ReEducating Miss Roth
by Japhith
Summary: Girls might just want to have fun, but Raven isn't most girls. When she and Jinx have to go undercover to protect another teen from an assassin, will Jinx get her to loosen up? Or is Raven just too set in her ways?
1. Cassandra Roth and Jenny Wrangler

The Re-Education of Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes: This popped into my head a little while ago, and I've just now decided to get the first chapter down. I'm cranking out GCC at a steady pace, but I decided to take a little break to jot this out. It's pretty tame right now, but it'll get wilder later on, with parties, fist fights, hot boys, sexy girls, dangerous assassins, and lots and lots of explosions.  
I've used the name Jenny Wrangler for Jinx again, but please note that this story has nothing to do with the Music of Jump City series.  
Rated for language now, and mature themes and violence later on.  
Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

Chapter One: Cassandra Roth and Jenny Wrangler

* * *

The door to a well appointed office on the second floor of the administrative building opened without a noise, gliding along on well oiled hinges. As it bounced lightly off of the door stop, a tall woman with a long face stepped into the room, pushing her horn-rimmed glasses up her nose a bit further and staring down the length of the rather pointed part of her face at the two girls seated on the sofas that sat across from each other around a large square coffee table.

The first young woman, dressed in the West Jump City Institute for Education (WJCIE for short) stood up and inclined her head in acknowledgment. The other girl (also wearing the uniform) remained seated and continued staring out the window, loudly chewing her gum.

A much younger and shorter woman peeked her head around the tall woman in the doorway to see what the hold up was and arched her eyebrow.

The first young woman growled quietly and kicked the table somewhat more viciously than she really needed to. The second girls foot bounced off of it and she turned a angry glare on her counterpart, and only then noticed that they had company. She quickly stood up and inclined her head as well with a mumbled, "Sorry..."

The tall woman was dressed smartly in a business skirt and blazer, and large gaudy jewlry dangled from her ears and wrists. She gave the second girl a disapproving frown and stepped into the room, running a hand along her graying brown hair that was pulled up in a severe bun, "Please pay better attention, Miss Wrangler." She walked to the desk that was situated at the head of the room and sat down, facing the assembled group. Two young woman and what was obviously one of her underlings.

"Girls, this is Ms. Veerlin. She will be your home room teacher, as well as your dormitory advisor. Ms. Veerlin, this is Cassandra Roth," she motioned to the first girl with a tight lipped smile that quickly turned down into a slight frown as she motioned to the second girl, "and Jennifer Wrangler. I leave them in your charge with only one parting request."

"Yes, Mrs. Cain?" Ms. Veerlin was short, only a few inches over five feet, but very pretty. Her long blond hair was swept back from her rosy cheeks and blue eyes and held in a pony tail behind her head. She wore a smart skirt, much like the one Mrs. Cain was wearing, but she wore no blazer, simply a nice, white blouse.

"Have these girls dye their hair back to their original colors. I will not have such loud and disruptive displays of hedonism running rampant in the halls of this fine institution."

Doing her best to hide a slight smile at the two girls looks of slight horror, Ms. Veerlin nodded, "Right away, Mrs. Cain."

"Thank you. Your things have already been brought to your dorm, girls. You may go now."

"Thank you, Principle Cain." the first girl, the one with short violet hair, nodded in a slight bow and walked back to stand with Veerlin. The second girl was pulling at a lock of her mid-length bubble gum pink hair and frowning. After a few moments, the purple haired girl hissed, "Jen!"

"Hmm?" the pink haired girl looked back, then snapped out of her daze, "Oh! Thank you, Principal Cain." she too bowed slightly and then practically ran to catch up to Ms. Veerlin and Cassandra as they walked out the door.

* * *

The campus of WJCIE was well kept and clean year round. As Jump City was situated just South of San Francisco on the California coast, they never had to worry about snow, and the trees were green year round. The grass was well trimmed, and the hedges were pruned nicely. Everything looked perfect in the afternoon sunshine.

"Man!" Jenny Wrangler said as the three of them walked along a pristien sidewalk outside the admin building, "Is Cain always that uptight?"

"I'm afraid so, yes." Ms. Veerlin nodded with a smile, "Not all of us on the teaching staff are quite as strict as her though, so don't worry too much."

"So, we don't have to dye our hair then?" Jenny asked hopefully.

"No, I'm afraid you will. School policies do state that no un-natural hair colors or pircings are allowed."

"So I have to take out my tongue barbell too?" Jen stuck out her tongue for emphisis."

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Veerlin smiled again.

"You see way too happy about all this." Jenny grumbled.

Cassandra spoke for the first time since they had left Cain's office, "I'm not happy about having to change my hair color either, Jen, but rules are rules, and while Mom and Dad have us here, we'll have to follow them."

"Oh, yeah." Jenny rolled her eyes, "_Mom_, and _Dad_ wouldn't want me to act out now would they?"

"No, they wouldn't." Cassie leveled a glare at her 'sister' and the pink haired girl fell silent.

"Do you girls have any hair dye to work with?" Veerlin asked, "I keep a bleaching kit or two around just in case something like this happens-"

"I'm NOT going blond." Jenny stated with finality."

"I brought along hair dye to change back to my _natural_ color, Jen." Cassie nudged the other girl, "Why don't you want to go _back_ to _blond_?"

"You're evil, you know that?" Jenny growled back at her.

"Well, if you're natural color is blond, then that's what you're stuck with." Veerlin laughed a little, "Sorry, Miss Wrangler, but I'm afraid we do have to follow the rules in this case."

"Right." Jenny continued to glare at Cassie until they stopped in front of a large brick building in the Northwest corner of campus.

"Here we are! The girls dorms!" Veerlin motioned, "I have a class to get back to, but I'm sure you can find your way to room..." she pulled out a slip of paper and checked it, "204, right?"

Jenny opened her mouth, a look of protest coming to her face, but Cassie stomped on her foot, shutting her up, "We can find our way just fine. Thank you, Ms. Veerlin."

"You're quite welcome. I'll see you later at dinner." she smiled and walked off.

As they watched her go, Jenny spoke up, "We have to share a room?"

"Yes."

"You knew this?"

"Yes."

"And the reason you didn't tell me?"

"Because like the hair color issue, it would have given you another reason to not go on this mission."

As Cassie turned and walked to the front door of the building, Jenny shook her head and followed, "Remind me again why I did agree to come on this mission?"

"Shortened jail time?" Cassie asked as they stepped into the deserted lobby.

"Oh yeah." Jen sighed, "That."

* * *

An hour later the two of them were moving about their rather spacious room, putting cloths away in dressers and setting up personal effects on night stands. They were dressed in old t-shirts and jeans, having just got back from the bathroom down the hall where they had dyed their hair.

"Do you think they'll mind if I set up the Circle of Odin in here?" Jenny asked, her hair still wrapped up in a towel.

Cassie turned back to her and glanced at the flask of white sand in her hand, "I don't see why they'd have to know if you cleaned it up right away after casting the wards. It's actually not a bad idea, considering why we're here."

"You always were a bit of a worry wart, Raven."

"Call me Cassie, _Jinx_."

"Right, right. At least I get to use my real name." she stuck her tongue out at Raven, who's hair was still under a shower cap, letting the black hair dye seep in.

"We both had to make sacrifices for this mission." Raven reached up and rubbed her bare forehead where the charka stone used to sit and sighed, "Meditation is going to be _so_ hard now."

"You know, in hindsight I think I got the better deal here. I mean, I may have to go blond, and I might have to remove my tongue pircing, but at least I'm out of jail, and I'm back in school."

"Just don't go hurling hexes at girls that piss you off or boys that get fresh." Raven rolled her eyes, and turned back to her night stand, where she moved a reading lamp over to make room for the Book of Azar.

"I'll be good until this assassin shows his or her ugly face. Man, I wish we had more to go on than the death threats the Senator got."

"Senator Pullman asked us to protect his daughter from harm." Raven stated, "As much as I'd like to completely ignore every single empty headed waif at this prep school, we'll have to make an effort to make... friends with her."

Jinx grinned, "Maybe you should let me handle the friend making part and concentrate on the watching-out-for-the-psychopath part."

"As much as I'd like to agree with that plan, I also don't trust you any further than I can throw you, so no."

"Oh come on." Jinx sat the flask of sand down on her dresser and grabbed a spell book. She sat down on her bed and started flipping through it, "You guys implanted a freakin' tracking chip in my _arm_. It's not like I can run away."

"I'm in charge here, Jinx." Raven leveled a glare at her, "I give an order, you follow it."

"I know." Jinx nodded, "Just... try to lighten up a bit, okay? Not just for my sake, but for the mission. I know the nature of your powers makes it hard for you, but try to be a bit more congenial, especially to the other girls. They'll like you better if you smile now and then."

It was Raven's turn to nod. She knew Starfire would have stuck out like a sore thumb in this school, but she still didn't know why they hadn't just contacted the JLA or the JSA. Couldn't they have gotten the Star Spangled Kid or something?

"What do you think of the Fourth Incantation of Artimus? Too much?" Jinx looked up from her book, breaking the silence.

"We'll have to work together to cast it in such a small area, but I don't think it's going over board. I wouldn't mind having complete telekinetic control over anyone who steps into the room."

"Okie-dokie. We can do it later tonight after moonrise."

"Good thing I brought my summoning candles and my Orb or Thesla."

Jinx nodded and looked out the window situated between their two beds, which were pushed against opposit walls. Her eyes widened, "Good thing they put us facing the outside wall!" she walked over swiftly and opened the window, "Check it out! We can jump right to the fence from here and sneak out after curfew!"

"Not that I wouldn't have been able to fly any way, but we are _not_ sneaking out."

"What if this Rebecca Pullman chick wants to sneak out?"

"And let her make herself an even easier target?" Raven scoffed, "No. We do everything in our power to keep her inside these walls after curfew."

"Whatever. I bet she sneaks out almost every night and parties hard."

"I bet I'm going to tear your tongue barbell out of your mouth if you don't take it out before diner."

* * *

The standard girls uniform for WJCIE was black shoes, white socks, a green and blue plaid skirt, a white blouse and a navy blazer. Earrings were allowed, and hair was required to be at least shoulder length. Makeup was also allowed, but only in minimum amounts.

Both Raven and Jinx hated it.

"I hate skirts." Raven said, tugging at the hem, trying to make it lower.

"You run around town wearing nothing but a leotard and a cloak, and you're complaining about a skirt?" Jinx pulled at the sleaves of her jacket, "Do I have to wear this thing?"

"When it's closer to summer, they get a bit more lax about it, but for now, yes."

"Goddess I hope we're not here that long."

"No shit." Raven checked her reflection in the mirror one last time before turning to Jinx, "Okay. We're Cassie and Jenny again now. It's time to go face the girls."

"How old am I again?"

Raven rolled her eyes, "Seventeen. You're seventeen."

"But I'm eighteen." Jinx pointed at herself."  
"So am I, but we wouldn't be here if we were. You want me to go over this one more time?"

"Um..." Jinx seemed to go over facts in her head, "No, lemme see if I have it. Okay, I'm Jenny Wrangler. Not hard, since that's my actual name. You're Cassandra Roth, my step sister. Your mother married my father, and we just moved in to Jump from Gotham because Dad got a promotion."

"Right." Raven nodded, "You competed in a sport."

Jinx nodded, "Karate competitions. And you're a scholar."

"And you call me...?"

"A bookworm." Jinx smiled, "I could get used to this."

"Remember, we're sisters." Raven glared, "We may not get along all the time, especially since we're step sisters, but we still look out for each other. Don't forget to _act_ sisterly if the need arises."

"Okay... I think I can do this."

"Cassie." Raven pointed at herself, "Remember."

The two of them stepped into the lobby of the dorm and looked about quickly for their mark. Making contact with Rebecca Pullman was their first priority, followed by becoming her friends. There were several girls milling about the large common area, having just returned from classes for the day.

"Not here." Jinx said after a moment.

"Then we move on to diner." Raven replied.

They started across the lobby, but were quickly stopped by a gaggle of young woman who saw them passing.

"Hey!" one of them pointed, "Newbies!"

The group of four girls turned as one and inspected the two new comers with critical eyes. Raven sensed them judging, their emotions a mix between spite at the two pretty new girls, and cautiousness as they were strangers. Distrust bred distrust, and Raven didn't like this group already.

The ring leader of the four stepped up to them with a haughty look on her face, "Well, well. Newbies, huh?" she smiled a sickly sweet smile, "What're your names, dears?"

"Jenny Wrangler." Jinx stepped forward with a grin and stuck out her hand, "And you are?"

The girl looked at Jinx's hand for a moment, as if making sure it wasn't covered in mud before taking it and shaking it daintily, "Ginger Hammilton."

"As in Gregory Hammilton? The Hammilton hotel mogul?"

"That's Daddy." Ginger smiled that sickening smile again and turned to Raven, "And you are?"

"Cassandra Roth. Charmed." Raven left her arms folded across her chest and glared.

"Well now aren't you just a bundled of joy." that smiled again.

"No." Raven replied with a raised eye brow, "Not really."

Ginger's smile faltered, but came back when she turned back to Jinx, "Your friend needs to work on her social graces a bit."

"Oh, don't mind my sister. She's a bit too much of a brain sometimes for her own good."

"Sister? With different last names?"

"Step sisters." Raven corrected, "And we were on our way to diner. Jenny?"

"Right. We're on the second floor." Jinx pointed up, "See you around?"

"Oh... no, probobly not." Ginger grinned once more, "The second floor is... well, we don't go there much." the group of girls behind her giggled and whispered back and forth for a moment.

Jinx frowned, "Oh, well... whatever!" she smiled brightly, "We'll see you around campus then. Bye!" and she walked swiftly back to Raven's side. As they continued out of the building and down the well lit path to the cafeteria, she grabbed Raven's arm and hissed in her ear, "What were you doing back there? We're supposed to be normal kids trying to make friends!"

Raven's reply was cool and monotone as she yanked her arm away from Jinx, "They were vapid, empty headed, idiots who judged us before they even talked to us. They're the kind of people that have created a society where-"

"Shut _up_." Jinx reached out again and yanked Raven's arm, making her stop. She faced the black haired girl and whispered in a low tone so that the girls passing by and sending them curious glances wouldn't hear, "We... are... normal! Do you want this mission to fail? My freedom is riding on this, _Cassie_, so you had better start acting like a normal seventeen year old book worm pretty damn quick."

"I don't see how I'm not acting-"

"Normal girls _aren't empathic_!" Jinx growled, "Now please, loosen up! You can be blunt, and you can be sarcastic, but please, start acting like you don't know what everyone is thinking!"

Raven sighed and nodded, "You're right. I apologize." she shook her head, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Well then try harder." Jinx glared, "I'm hungry."

"Then let's go eat." Raven... smiled.

Jinx took a step back and looked at her, slightly afraid, "Okay... let's take it one step at a time."

* * *

The cafeteria was just starting to fill up when the two teens arived, and they got in line for food as quickly as posible. There were several different menus to choose from, including vegetarian and vegan, as well as an Atkins menu. Both girls took ordered food from the regular menu, as neither of them was exactly on a diet. Raven poked Jinx in the shoulder as they revived their food, "You could use some more meat on you. How do you stand being so skinny?"

"How do you stand hauling around all that weight in your chest?" Jinx winked back, "I mean, holy back problems."

Raven rolled her eyes, "They're not _that_ big."

"Big enough. Oh look, we need a place to sit." Raven looked up from where she was attempting to inspect the size of her own breasts, and saw that Jinx was right. There were tables lined along the length of the large eating area in seven rows. Each table sat eight, and with a groan, Raven noticed that none of them were empty yet.

"Let's go sit with that group over there..." Jinx was practically drooling in the direction of a group of six boys who looked built and handsome.

"Reign in your hormones for a few minutes and help me look for Pullman." Raven muttered to her.

"Oh, right." Jinx scanned the room with her for a moment before Raven pointed, "There."

Jinx looked and sure enough, Rebecca Pullman sat with three other girls talking and laughing, looking exactly as she had in the photo they had both memorized. She was of average height and weight, had a pretty, heart shaped face, and shoulder length brown hair. She seemed average in every way.

"Let's go." Raven said and started over.

Jinx followed, hot on her heels, but when they reached the table, Raven stopped short. The four girls looked up from what they had just been laughing at and looked at the two new arrivals.

"Um... can we help you?" one of them, a redhead with a smattering of freckles across her nose asked.

Raven stared at them all for a moment, and Jinx knew she was reading their emotions, probably out of habit. She was just about to step around Raven and talk for her when the dark haired girl spoke, "May we join you? We just got here today, and don't really know anyone yet..." she trailed off as the four continued to stare at her.

After what seemed like an eternity, a short blond haired girl sitting next to Pullman spoke up, "Sure! Sit down, sit down!" she waved them into seats and leaned forward, pushing her already eaten meal away from her, "So you two are new, huh? You know each other?"

Jinx and Raven looked up at her as they finished sitting and nodded. They spoke in unison, "Step sisters." They both started and stared at each other for a moment.

"That's cool. I have a step sister... she's four this year." the red head spoke. She stuck out her hand to Jinx, who was now sitting next to her, "Amelia MacGregor, at your service. Call me Ami."

"I'm Hanna Trestel." the smiling blond girl said with a bounce, "Call me, uh... Hanna!"

"Creative, Hanna." the brown haired girl they had been searching for turned to them with a kind smile, "Ignore their eccentricities. They're really nice when you get to know them." she winked, "My name's Becka. Becka Pullman."

"The senators daughter." Raven noted with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-yes." she nodded with a slight blush, "How'd you know?"

"We were told you went here. It was one of the deciding factors for our patents actually." Jinx took a healthy mouthful off food and munched away.

Raven leaned forward and looked past Ami down at the fourth girl in the group that had sat down with. She had deep blue eyes, and brown hair so dark it almost looked black, "Hi." she said.

"Hello." the girl replied in a small voice, "How are you settling in?" she had a slight southern drawl, and her eyes darted down to the table top shyly.

"Just fine... we unpacked already." Raven raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly, "I'm Cassandra Roth." she nodded in greeting

"Janice Butler." the shy girl responded with a small smile of her own.

Jinx raised her hand and spoke through a mouthful of food, "Jenny Wrangler! Call me Jen."

Raven sighed and hid her face in her own hands, "Why do you have to be such a barbarian, Jen?"  
"Just the way Mom raised us."

"You didn't even know Mom until Dad married her three years ago! I blame Bill. This is all his upbringing."

"You laugh every time he makes rude jokes at the dinner table and you know it!" Jenny pointed a finger at her and grinned.

"Remind me to smother you in your sleep some time soon."

"Will do."

"Definitely step-sisters." Ami nodded.

"Hey..." Becka leaned forward and stared at Raven for a moment, "Cool! How'd you get away with those colored contacts?"

Raven blinked at her and pointed at her eyes, "I don't wear contacts. My eyes are naturally violet."

"Really?" Ami sounded sarcastic, "And I supose your eyes are naturally pink." she turned and raised an eyebrow at Jinx.

Jinx paused in her eating and leaned forward until her nose was almost touching that of the red head, "You see any contacts in my eyes?"

Ami squinted for a moment, then leaned back, "Whoa... your eyes really _are_ pink."

"No way..." Becka leaned into Raven's face and inspected her eyes as well, "And yours are really violet! That's cool!"

"If you say so." Jinx shrugged, "You'd be surprised how many people get freaked out by it."

"No way!" Hanna bounced again, "They're way cool!"

"Um..." everyone looked over at Janice. She looked at Jinx with a shy smile, "Are the vertical pupils real too?"

There was a pause as everyone's heads swung around and looked at Jinx's eyes. She blinked once and shrugged, "Yeah."

"Okay, now _that's_ a bit freaky." Hanna noted.

"Don't mind her weird look." Raven replied with a smile, "She had pink hair too,until a few hours ago..."

* * *

After diner the six girls walked down the path back to the dorms. They were chatting amongst themselves about what classes were going to be tough on the newbies, and what boys were the cutest, and what girls were the bitchy ones.

"We met Ginger Hammilton already." Jinx said with a hint of anger in her voice, "She seemed pretty down on the second floor girls."

"Oh, well, she would." Becka laughed, "We're the second floor girls. She's just jealous because we get the floor to ourselves."

"Why's that?" Raven asked.

"Well, actually..." Becka looked at the sidewalk with a light blush.

"It because she's the governor's daughter." Ami said, rolling her eyes, "The only reason she doesn't have a Secret Service detail is because the school has such a good security system."

"Oh... so, you have to like... go through a screening process to be put on that floor or something?"

"No... I just have to approve it, or Father does." Becka blushed a little more.

"Well!" Jinx clapped her hands together, "Glad we met the Governor's standards!"

"What?" Hanna spun around from where she was walking up ahead further, "You mean you two are on the second floor with us?"

"Yep. Room 204." Jinx nodded.

"Wow! We haven't head anyone else on our floor for like, two years!" Ami smiled widely, "Glad it was the two of you and not some air head like Ginger!"

"I heard that, Amelia." Ginger stepped out of the front of the dorm as they walked up to it and put her hands on her hips, "I see you picked up the new riff-raff as quickly as you could. Second floor with you, did you say?" she laughed and looked down at them with a sick grin, "Well, they look like they'll fit right in."

"Out of the way, Ginger." Becka took a step forward, in front of the group, "We need to get upstairs."

"You didn't say please." Ginger smiled her red-lipstick covered smile even wider and glared.

"Please move, Ginger." Becka said with a sigh.

"Now that wasn't very convincing. I think you need to try again."

Jinx had had enough. She stepped up next to Becka and growled out, "Please move or I'll rip your spleen out through your _nose_. Is that convincing enough for you?" she balled her hands into fists and took another threatening step forward.

"Oh, look who thinks she little miss ass kicker!" Ginger leaned down, "You're too small to be a good fighter."

"Show's what you know." Raven droned out, "Jenny, don't hurt her too badly."

"Fine, fine." Jinx hauled back a fist and let it fly right at Ginger's face. She moved intentionally slowly, giving the poor girl enough time to shriek and duck out of the way as she lunged forward. She accelerated herself at the last second and plowed her fist into the wall where Ginger had been leaning just a half second before. Cracks formed around the impact zone, and she hauled back her bleeding knuckles with a grin.

"Holy... shit!" Ginger fled back inside the dorm with a terrified look on her face.

"Holy shit is right!" Ami spoke up, "How'd you... do that?"

"Eleven years of martial arts training!" Jinx smiled in a cheerful manner, "Shall we?" she motioned everyone inside.

* * *

Everyone in the group of six second floorers broke up and went to their rooms to change into more casual clothes so they could study and do homework in their level's common area. As soon as Raven shut the door behind them, Jinx winced and lifted her hand up to inspect it.

"Flying fuck-twits that hurts." she said.

"Let me see." Raven took the hand and looked it over, prodding it once or twice. She sighed, "I can heal the broken bones, but I'm going to have to leave the bruising and the abrasions. It'd be too suspicious if it was just healed all the way in five minutes."

"Yeah, whatever. Just make the pain stop." Jinx whined.

Raven took a few minutes to heal the broken bones in the other girls hand, then began to change. As she pulled off her shirt, she looked at herself in the mirror again, "They're not really that big, are they?" she asked.

"Well, since all you have to compare yourself to is Starfire, I'm not surprised you haven't noticed." Jinx grinned and shrugged out of her own, much smaller bra, "See? This is average."

Raven glanced at Jinx, then back at herself. With a sigh, she shrugged, "Oh well."

"Don't worry. Guys dig that stuff."

"I'm not interested in dating." Raven said in a monotone as she pulled on a red t-shirt that read 'Titans, Go!' in large gold letters. Picking up the jeans she'd worn earlier, she kicked off her skirt and yanked of her socks.

"Well, well." Jinx was pulling her own jeans on and already wore a black tank top, "Never would have figured you for a thong girl, Cassie."

"I've grown used to it. What else am I supposed to wear under my uniform?"

"Point." Jinx shrugged, "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

The second floor common room was a large room with one study table and two couches in front of a large coffee table. A good sized TV sat in the corner with a DVD player hooked up to it, and Jinx noted the surround sound speakers throughout the room, "Spare no expense, eh?" she mumbled to Raven.

Raven nodded, "This school costs enough." she replied, then raised her voice, "What are you working on, Janice?"

The dark haired southerner looked up from the book she was reading and stared at Raven with wide, blue eyes. A light blush crept up her cheeks and she stuttered out, "History."

"One of my best subjects." Raven nodded and walked over. She sat down next to the girl and glanced at the book, "I know the Napoleonic wars front to back. Need any help?"

"S-sure!" Janice smiled slightly.

Jinx ignored them after that and walked over to where Ami was sitting on one of the couches going over some notes and watching TV at the same time, "Hard at work I see."

"Trig is boring." the red head replied and shrugged, "What can I say? Reality TV is my life."

"Yeah. America's favorite pass time." Jinx sat down as well and was soon engrossed in _The Bachelor._

Becka and Hanna joined them eventually, and the six of them studied, watched TV, and chatted until almost 11:00 when a Ms. Veerlin appeared at their stairwell doorway, "Bed, girls! I expect to see all of you bright and early tomorrow!"

"Okay, Vee! You heard her, ladies!" Becka stood up and stretched, "Homeroom at 8:00 A.M. sharp!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ami stood up as well, "Hail, fearless leader. I swear, you should get together with Robin from the Titans sometime. You two would get along great!"

Raven exchanged a glance with Jinx and they grinned at each other.

* * *

"So, what do you think of them?" Jinx asked as they changed into PJ's.

"Becka is the perfect leader for them. She's confident, but she knows how to avoid confrontation and defuse an argument. Ami is just as spunky as her hair suggests, and I'm guessing gets them in trouble more than anyone else."

"Did you hear Hanna talking tonight? Man can that girl yammer on!"

"And eat. She really knows her food."

"What about Janice? She seems... quiet."

"I have a feeling she's not usually so shy, but that I might have had a slightly intimidating effect on her."

"You were being so nice though!" Jinx laughed, "I saw you getting all excited about Napoleon over there!"

"It's not that. She just prefers dark hair, and she thinks my eyes are exotic."

Jinx paused as Raven continued to change and stared at her, "Are you saying she's... gay?"

"Yes." Raven turned and blinked at her, "Why? That a problem?"

"Did she tell you?"  
"She doesn't tell anyone. I just know because I could feel it." Raven tapped her head with one finger.

"Um... are you gay?"

Raven rolled her eyes, "No, I'm not. But like I said earlier, I can't have any kind of romantic relationship, so get the idea of hooking me up with some cute boy while we're here out of your head."

Jinx grumbled as she climbed into bed and switched off her bedside lamp, "You know, it's creepy when you do that."

"And stop thinking about my breasts all the time. It's disturbing." Raven climbed into her own bed.

"Will you cut that out!"

"Goodnight, Jenny."

The light switch on the far side of the room glowed black for a moment, then flicked off.

* * *

Closing Notes: That's it for now. I'm going to work on GCC some more and hopfully have the next chapter of that up before I write any more of this. It's a side project really, so don't expect the updates to come flying at you fast and furious or anything. Review, tell me what you thought, and if you haven't read ALL of my stories, I highly encorage you to do so now. Or later. Just do it, alright? 


	2. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: More set up in this chapter, and a little bit of action just to make it interesting. Read on!

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, and you know it, so neeaaaa!

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Girls just wanna have fun...**_

* * *

**__**

"Wake up, Jenny."

Jinx opened her eyes a tiny bit and stared over at Raven, who was already gathering her things for a quick shower down the hall, "Hmmph?"

"It's almost 6:30, and we have to be down to homeroom by 8:00. There's four other girls besides us that need to shower and make themselves pretty for class today, so you need to start getting around soon."

Jinx nodded and closed her eyes again.

* * *

A solid thump told her that she'd been tossed out of her bed. She grumbled and quickly stood up, "Alright! I'm up! Jeez..."

"Jeez nothing, Jen!" Raven was shouting, "It's 7:13! You've already missed breakfast, so just take a quick shower and hurry downstairs. I'll meet you there so we can get to class."

"Didn't you say it was 6:30?" Jinx squinted.

"I said it was 6:30 almost AN HOUR AGO WHEN I WOKE YOU UP THE FIRST TIME!" Raven shouted back, making Jinx flinch away, "GET MOVING!"

"Eep!" Jinx jumped back from Raven's glowing red eyes and grabbed her shower basket, "I'm going!"

* * *

"You didn't have to scream at me so much..." Jinx mumbled as they walked briskly down the path that led to one of the two school buildings on the campus.

"If you had actually gotten up at a decent hour, I wouldn't have had to." Raven replied, cool as ever, "The others are already there, and we're being lax in our duty to protect Becka by not staying with them."

"You could have gone ahead of me-"

"You would have fallen asleep again. Do _not_ screw this up, Jenny. We can' afford for you to be in detention your first day!"

As they walked through the doors of Westpost Hall (both of their first three classes were there, as well as their homeroom) Raven turned a hard right and walked up a staircase, Jinx hot on her heels. Down the hall at the top of the stairs, Raven stopped abruptly in front of room 210.

"Okay. Veerlin will probably introduce us to the class in some embarrassing manner or another. Try not to be too spastic." Raven glared as she smoothed out her skirt.

"Try not to be too cold and bitchy." Jinx winked.

Groaning, Raven pushed the door open and they walked in. The class was already seated, and they were chatting amongst themselves. All conversation stopped when they saw that the two new girls were in their class.

Ms. Veerlin motioned them forward and in front of the class. She stood next to them, a good head shorter than even Raven, and motioned with a warm smile and a heartfelt tone, "This, class, is Cassandra Roth, a new student here at WJCIE. She has transferred in from Gotham, as has her step-sister, Jennifer Wrangler." she smiled at Jinx, who smiled back, "Would you girls like to say anything?"

"We're pleased to be here, and hope to meet as many of you as possible in the next few days." Raven nodded to the class and gave a slight smile.

"You'll have to forgive me if I mess up the first thousand times I'm talking to you," Jinx added with a grin, "I'm terrible with names."

"Alright then, girls! Take your seats please!" Raven moved to the right, near the window, and Jinx walked down the center of the room to a desk in the back. Both places had their names on them in little paper tents, so they were easy to find.

* * *

As Raven took her seat, she looked to her right and saw a young man with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes. He smiled warmly at her and she sensed that he was trying to be friendly, even though he felt she was a bit odd.

Turning her eyes forward again, she saw that a girl with thin, blond hair was seated in front of her, a book open on her desk. Reading over her shoulder, Raven saw it was H.P. Lovecraft. A horror buff.

Since she was being soundly ignored, Raven paid no mind to that girl for now. She turned and looked behind herself.

Ami sat there, and stuck her tongue out at Raven with a slight giggle. Raven smiled back and turned forward again, listening as Ms. Veerlin began to speak. A bird flew by the window on her right, and she ignored it completely.

* * *

Jinx spent the first few moments in her seat adjusting her skirt. It was all twisted funny from having been yanked on so hastily just minutes before, and she wanted it to sit right if she was going to be stuck in it all day.

As Ms. Veerlin started into the days announcements, Jinx took stock of the nearby desk dwellers. Becka sat directly to her left, and waved slightly as Jinx looked at her. She nodded back and poked the African American girl sitting in front of her. The young woman glanced back and Jinx mouthed, 'What's your name?'

The girl smiled a little and mouthed back, 'Jenna.'

Jinx grinned and patted her shoulder, turning and looking to her right.

Ginger Hammilton glared right back at her.

With a frown and a sigh of disgust, Jinx decided to pay attention to what her homeroom teacher was saying.

"... and that brings us to the topic of hallway smoochery." Jinx blinked as the whole class let out a light chuckle. Veerlin continued, "While we realize that it's impossible to keep you kids from dating one another, we ask that you refrain from exorbitant public displays of affection. Principal Cain would like me to remind you that if you are caught necking in a public forum," she paused as another wave of giggles swept the room, "then you will be assigned one hour worth of detention that she herself will personally oversee." she placed the sheet of announcements down on her desk and hopped up so she was sitting there as well. Kicking her feet, she looked out over her class with a smile, "Any questions?"

The class was silent for a moment, then all heads turned to where Raven was sitting, her hand firmly up in the air.

Veerlin smiled at her, "Yes, Miss Roth?"

Raven lowered her hand, and with a deadpan voice and an expressionless face, she asked, "I would like to ask about the reminder of the church service on Sunday."

"Yes? What about it?"

"Is it mandatory?"

There was a minor buzz of commentary at this, and Jinx arched an eyebrow at the dark girl. Veerlin held up a hand and silenced the class as she responded to Raven's question.

"There are no rules stating that you must attend church with the rest of us, Miss Roth, but I do highly encourage you to go. It would be a good opportunity to get to know many of your classmates better."

Raven shook her head, "Thank you, but no."

"No?" Ginger spoke up from Jinx's right and the young sorceress closed her eyes and shrank back in her seat, waiting for the battle that was about to be fought, "What are you, a Satan worshiper?"

Raven turned slowly as Veerlin's mouth dropped open. She gave Ginger a cool look and blinked, "No, you empty headed twit. I'm a paganist, and therefore do not wish to be included in your worship of a God I don't believe in."

"So you _do_ worship Satan." Ginger looked triumphant.

"Didn't she just say that we're paganists?" Jinx snapped, "What part of that didn't you understand?"

"I'm talking to your sister dear. Please don't butt in."

Veerlin was still staring slack jawed at the battle of wills being played out in her classroom, too shocked and interested to see what would happen next to interfere.

Raven narrowed her eyes, "A paganist doesn't worship Satan. We worship the Earth Mother Ghea, Luna, the Moon Goddess, and many other spirits of the natural world." she turned away from Ginger, "Your refusal to understand anything but what your parents and peers have drilled into you as being 'right' and 'wrong' shows quite clearly that you are not only immature, but also that you're a close minded clone that walks through modern society believing more of what's on TV than what's taught in a class room." Ginger's mouth dropped open at that as well, but Raven wasn't done yet, "The freedom to worship how ever one wishes is a right afforded to the citizens of this country, and being pressured into worshiping something you don't want to is tyrannical and unjust. The fact that this school freely assumes that all it's students want to be part of it's Christian community is disturbing to say the least, and frankly, I'm rather insulted by it."

There was ringing silence through the room after Raven's speech, and everyone was staring at her.

Everyone except Jinx, who grinned widely and pumped her hand in the air, "You tell 'em Sis!"

Ginger finally snapped out of her funk and grinned her sick little grin, "Well, I guess this just proves what freaks you both are-"

The class never got to hear her reasoning for calling the two new girls freaks, because she was cut off quite effectively by Jinx's fist.

* * *

"Can't believe we _both_ got detention 'cause you decked that bitch." Raven muttered as she and Jinx walked out of homeroom, "I mean, yeah, maybe I shot my mouth off a little and called everyone close minded idiots, but _you're_ the one that almost broke her _jaw_."

"She deserved it. And at least we don't have detention together. One of us can keep an eye on Becka while the other is... I dunno... writing 'I will not slug other students' on the board or something."

"Gee... that's comforting."

"Hey guys!" they both stumbled a bit as Hanna slammed into them from behind, throwing her arms around their shoulders, "What classes do you have next."

"Trig." Raven replied with a soar face.

"Chem." Jinx smiled, "We're in the same class, aren't we?"

"Yeah!" Hanna smiled widely, "You, me, Becka and Janice. Only Ami was dumb enough to take _another_ math class this year." she stuck her tongue out at Raven, who rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you two jokers in English class." Raven waved over her shoulder as she walked down the hall to her math class.

"Alright!" Jinx and Hanna started down the hall in the opposite direction, "We doing anything cool today?" Jinx asked.

"We're in the lab today! This experiment is supposed to be wicked cool! Like, little balls of fire and everything!"

"Great!" Jinx grinned in a rather sinister manner, "I like fire!"

* * *

"Are you any good at this stuff?" Ami asked as she scanned her notes from where she sat next to Raven in their Trigonometry class.

Raven glanced over at her and shrugged, "I did fairly well back in Gotham. Since Mr. Hathorn is requiring me to take a test over material I haven't studied yet, I guess we'll find out just how good I am."

"He's making you take the test?" Ami looked at her in horror, "What a bastard!"

"Tell me about it." Raven frowned. While she was good at math (she was good at anything that required thought, instead of action) she didn't know if she could pass a Trig test without at least seeing what it was over.

"You want to borrow my notes?" Ami asked, "After the religion debacle in homeroom, you can't want to screw up any more today..."

"_I_ didn't screw up. Jen is the one who smashed Ginger's face in." Raven frowned at the red head.

Ami grinned, "It _was_ a good punch though, wasn't it?"

Raven had to chuckle at that, "Yeah. I have first hand experience with how well Jenny can throw a punch."

* * *

"Don't you think that's a little much?" Becka asked as Jinx lifted the two half full flasks of chemicals in front of her and prepared to mix them into a bowl. Both of them, as well as their third lab partner, Janice, were dressed in fire retardant smocks and had their hair pulled back, safety glasses firmly in place.

"I just want a bigger boom, you know?" Jinx grinned a Cheshire like grin, "I figure more chemicals means a more spectacular experiment, and a more spectacular experiment means a higher grade, right?"

"I'm not sure that's how it's supposed to work..." Janice took a few steps back.

"We'll never know 'till we try though!" Jinx happily dumped both chemicals she held in equal amounts into the bowl in front of her.

The resulting explosion blasted her halfway across the room.

* * *

Raven flipped open her English text book as she sat down. Glancing at the board, she saw that they would be studying the early 20th century playwrights, and nodded. She knew enough to ace a high school class on that subject.

She looked to her left and blinked as Becka sat down, looking slightly singed. Looking back right, she saw Jinx sitting down, her hair a good inch and a half shorter, and her eyebrows much thinner.

As she opened her mouth to speak, Jinx held up a hand, "Don't ask."

Raven shut her mouth, nodded, and went back to reading.

* * *

After English and History, the six second-floor-girls gathered at their usual table in the cafeteria for lunch. Jinx dug right in, along with Hanna, but the other four of them took a few minutes to talk.

"So Cassie," Ami asked as she stirred her mashed potatoes in with her peas, "you mentioned how much you dislike gym class... it's next period, you know."

"I'll manage." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry if you're not that good at anything," Becka spoke up, "I'm not half as good as Ami or Janice at _anything_ we do in gym, but I still get decent grades."

Raven shook her head, "While I don't necessarily enjoy physical exertion, I never said I wasn't good at it. I keep in shape."

"Good to hear..." Janice spoke in her quite, southern accent, "we could use some more strong players on the softball field."

"Just put us on opposing teams then." Jinx said thorough half a mouth full of food, "Cassie might not look it, but she enjoys the heck out of beating me at everything we do."

"Really? I don't see you as being the competitive type, Cass..." Becka gave her a smile.

"I'm not." Raven glared at Jinx.

"Oh, sure she is!" Jinx laughed and swallowed her food, "Better grades, beats me in gym class all the time, bigger bust..." she got a sly smile on her face, and Raven's eyes narrowed as she sensed what was coming next, "cuter boyfriend..."

"No way!" Raven groaned as Ami spun around and grabbed her arm, "Tell us all about him, Cassie! You never let on you had a man! Is he back in Gotham? Is he... dark and gothic like you?"

Raven sighed, and glanced at Jinx with a death glare before launching into a story, "We broke up just before Jen and I moved here. Long distance wasn't our thing."

"What was his name?" Becka asked, taking a bite of food.

Raven smiled a little and looked Jinx right in the eye, "Rob."

Jinx grinned and shook her head.

"What was he like?" Janice asked, a little red in the face.

"Well, he was just a little taller than I am, so he was kind of short, and he had spiky black hair... he was... mysterious. Like there was another side of him that he never let anyone know about." Jinx almost laughed as Raven continued, "He was definitely cuter than anyone Jenny ever dated though."

"He had a killer ass." Jinx said with a grin.

Raven smirked, "I was always a bigger fan of his chest. When he was all sweaty after working out..."

Jinx arched an eyebrow, "And how often did you see him half naked and all sweaty, Cassie? Hell, how many times did you see him fully naked and all sweaty?"

There was a collective gasp from the other four girls at the table as Raven smiled slyly and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

* * *

Gym class was indeed softball that day. As the girls stretched (they all had gym together) Raven and Jinx eyed each other. Gym uniforms were blue shorts and white t-shirts, cross trainers and knee high tube socks.

"You look pretty good in short shorts." Jinx noted as Raven pulled an arm over her chest and stretched her shoulder.

"You too. They make your butt look better than it actually is." Raven replied, "And I think I finally see what you mean about my breasts." she glanced around, "Only two other girls come close to my size."

"Don't feel too bad..." Jinx grinned, "You still have Star too look up to."

"Who's Star?" Hanna asked as she stretched her calves next to them.

Both girls froze and turned their heads slowly to look at the perky blonde. Raven spoke fist, "A friend from back home... Olga Starmore. We called her Star because she hated the name Olga."

"Well, can't blame her for that..." Hanna shrugged, "We have our own 'Star' out here in Jump. Starfire is a Teen Titan!"

"Yeah, we've heard about them." Jinx laughed nervously, "That Cyborg is kind of... cute."

"You think Cyborg is cute?" Raven blurted, utterly shocked.

Jinx blushed, and Hanna giggled, "Who do you think is the cutest one then, Cassie?"

Raven looked sideways at Jinx and shrugged non-committed.

"Oh, I'll drag it out of her by the end of the night." Jinx said with a wink to Hanna, "I want to know now."

"Tell me when you do. There's so little to nettle her about that we need _something_."

Raven groaned... again... and motioned them over to where the students were gathering.

* * *

"Come on, Jenny!" Hanna shouted from the dugout, "Home run, girl!"

Jinx smiled from under her batter's helmet and saluted. Hefting her bat into position, she prepared for Ami's pitch.

The red head stared past Jinx for several seconds. She shook her head once, then twice, then grinned and nodded. With a sinking feeling, Jinx realized she was being set up for a difficult pitch through hand signals being exchanged by the pitcher and her catcher.

As Ami wound up, Jinx glued her eyes to the ball. The red head let it fly, and she braced herself for a solid swing.

It was a perfect curve, coming in high, then dipping in low over the plate at the last second. Any normal high school student would have found it exceptionally hard to hit.

Jinx, however, had been trained in several different martial arts styles, including kendo. She easily dipped the bat in a hard swing through the lower right attitude and up into the Red-Leaves-Cut maneuver, hitting the ball squarely six inches down from the tip of the bat.

The softball flew up high, way over center field. Jinx groaned and didn't even bother running as she watched Raven walk right under it and catch it as if it was being handed to her.

"That was a great hit!" the gym teacher, Miss Lovit exclaimed. She was average height, and had short black hair, tied back in a pony tail. She wore a blue WJCIE jump suit, the color of which set off her lightly tanned skin. She continued from where she was acting as the umpire, "Too bad it didn't go another ten yards or so... it would have been out of the park!"

"Yeah..." Jinx frowned slightly and glared out at Raven, "Guess I didn't hit it hard enough."

* * *

After gym, the only classes they had left were their chosen electives. Becka played the flute in the schools symphonic band, and as one of them had to stay with her at all times, one of them had to join the band as well.

The responsibility had fallen to Jinx by default, since she knew how to play the oboe. Raven had seemed quite amused by the fact that the former HIVE student knew how to do anything other than blow things up and beat the snot out of people.

"You'd think I wasn't allowed to have hobbies..." Jinx muttered to herself as she sat down at the end of the row of woodwinds and opened her oboe's case. Carefully pulling the pieces out and sticking the reed in her mouth to wet it, she began to assemble the instrument.

Once she was finished, she inserted the reed and played a few simple scales. Sitting up straighter, she smiled a little, then began a light jazz tune. She was just starting to get into it and tap her foot when someone cleared their throat.

Jinx looked up to see the entire class was seated and staring at her, some of them only part way through putting their interments together. She blushed a little and mumbled, "Sorry... guess jazz isn't you guys' thing, huh?"

"Actually," the music teacher, Mr. Quats, replied, "That was quite good..." he pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose and frowned a little, taking stock of his players. He motioned further down the line of woodwinds, to another of the oboe players, a young man with dark hair and a look of surprise and wonder on his face, "Why don't you take Peter's spot. The rest of you, move down..." Peter shrugged, acknowledging the superior player, and stood up with his oboe.

Jinx blushed and stood up to move as well.

* * *

As Raven cleaned oil paint out of her brushes, the stern voice of Mrs. Cain floated throughout the art studio, "As you know, the deadline for your portraits is quickly approaching. If you have not yet chosen your subject, find a friend who can sit still for long enough _soon_." The Principal not only over saw the administration of the school, but also taught the oil painting class, a position Raven found her to be quite good at. The stern woman continued, "Though your subject can be anyone, I do encourage you to find a creative element to add to the painting to make it... more real. Unusual lighting, or a unique background. These will add to the paintings interest, and of course, raise your grade."

Raven wondered briefly who she should use as a modal. Any of the girls would do nicely, with their varying skin tones and hair colors, but for some reason, she felt she needed something special for this piece. Painting was a hobby she had picked up shortly after joining the Titans, and she had done numerous landscape pieces all around the island, as well as portraits of Beast Boy in various animal shapes (mostly sleeping, as he didn't move as much then) and several of Starfire, who had an exceptional presence in oil.

On one side of her, Janice worked silently at cleaning her own brushes, but on the other side of her, the girl from the homeroom class that had been reading the Lovecraft book smiled brightly. She was taller, almost a head above Raven's height, and lean. She didn't have any truly outstanding physical qualities, and she wore thin framed oval glasses. Her thin, blonde hair was tucked back behind her ears, and it briefly summoned images of Terra to Raven's mind. She shook the dark thoughts from her head and attempted to strike up a conversation.

"You seem much more attentive in this class than you did in homeroom." she remarked.

"Oh, that's so early, and the announcements never really interest me that much." the girl replied as she placed a still wet canvas on a rack to dry. She turned to Raven and offered a hand, "I'm Maggie Delmont." she said with a half smile.

"Cassie Roth." Raven shook her hand, the paint they both wore smearing together as she did. With a light laugh, they both turned back to their tasks. Maggie looked critically at the still life she had just turned out during the class period.

"I don't like it." she finally said, and shrugged.

"It's just a quick practice piece." Raven shrugged.

"And it turned out much better than mine." Janice noted, motioning to the painting she had just completed as well. It was rough to say the least.

"You've always been better at doing people though." Maggie replied, "I just can't get mouths right."

"What about you, Cassie?" Janice asked shyly, "What do you prefer doing?"

"Mostly I do landscapes." Raven replied, staring off into space, "I've done portraits as well though, and they always turn out to be my best work... I... enjoy capturing the emotion on them."

"Tell you what..." Maggie turned her attention across the room and followed a well built young man with her eyes, "I wouldn't mind doing a nude of Brian Berklin. Growrrr."

Janice covered her mouth with one hand and giggled as Raven arched an eyebrow. Maggie looked back at them, "What? He's hot."

"He's okay." Janice spoke with an amused smile as she went back to cleaning her brushes. Her eyes flicked over to Raven, and the empath felt a spike in her arousal. She ignored it.

"Let's get finished here," she said instead, "I want to do a little homework before dinner."

* * *

Raven stepped back into the dorm room she shared with Jinx, and was immediately accosted by her roommate. Jinx yanked her into the room and kicked the door shut, spinning Raven around and tossing her to her bed.

"The hell... Jinx, what's wrong with you?" Raven scowled up at her.

"You hampered the flight path of my homerun, didn't you?"

Raven blinked, "Well, yeah. It was unnoticeable that high up, and I made the catch and got my team an out. I thought the point of the game was to win."

"The point here is that you used your powers! We're supposed to be undercover!"

"Like I said, no one noticed." Raven glared, "Stop being so upset because I one upped you. If you can use martial arts training to hit the ball, I can use my powers to catch it."

Jinx sighed and rubbed her eyes, "There's no point in trying to act upset with you is there?"

"Not really." Raven shook her head, "How was music class?"

"Fine... Becka's fine too. She's down the hall doing... something."

"Good." Raven glanced at the other girl, "I'm sorry if it upset you so much."

"No... it was just a really good hit, and you stole my thunder. I'm completive, sue me."

"Let's just focus on the mission tonight. We're getting carried away with being in school, and not paying enough attention to the fact that an assassin could attack at any time."

"Yeah." Jinx nodded.

Raven's bedside alarm went off and she leaned over to shut the beeping down. Jinx stared at her, "Why was that set for the middle of the day?"

"Time to report in." Raven replied and pulled a drawer open. She lifted out a locked jewelry box and pulled a key out of her pocket. As she opened it, Jinx leaned over and stared at what was inside.

A strange looking mirror that didn't reflect the outside world, and Titan communicator were the only two things sitting in the bottom of the ornate wooden case. Jinx arched an eyebrow, "What's the mirror for?"

"Meditation. Don't ever touch it if you want to stay alive." Raven pulled out the communicator and set the box aside. Flipping it open, she hit a few buttons, "Raven to Robin. Checking in."  
There was a pause, then Robin's voice crackled over the speaker and his face lit up on the screen, _"Report, Raven."_

"We've made contact, established friendships, and are quickly integrating ourselves into Becka Pullman's social circle."

_"Becka?"_

"It's what she prefers to be called." Raven shrugged.

_"Any findings?"_

"Nothing about the assassin. I did find out that Jinx thinks Cyborg is cute though."

"Hey!" Jinx protested. She jumped on Raven and struggled to get in front of the communicator's screen, "She used _you _as a fictional ex-boyfriend, Robin! What does that mean to you, huh?"

Robin blushed lightly, and cleared his throat, _"Are you behaving yourself, Jinx? Beast Boy reported something about you punching people...?"_

"Oh yeah... I have detention in a half hour." Jinx stopped struggling with Raven, and the dark girl shoved her off the bed and on to the floor, "Ompf!" she landed on her back.

"We'll report back in tomorrow. Until then." Raven nodded and flipped the com unit shut. She turned a death glare on Jinx, "You're a dead woman."

"So you think Robin is the cutest one, huh?" Jinx grinned up at her from the floor.

Raven growled and tossed the communicator back in the box, then slammed the lid shut.

* * *

Detention turned out to be scrubbing desks clean of graffiti. Most students were prone to doodling on their desks while a teacher was droning on about some boring subject or another, and it usually fell to the students in detention to clean away the lewd words, silly pictures, and quickly jotted test answers.

As soon as Raven waked in to Ms. Veerlin's room, Jinx walked out. Both had been allowed to wear normal clothes, and Jinx had her hair up in a bandana while she walked past Raven, "You'll need some elbow grease for this one..."

"Oh, joy." Raven droned, and walked to where Jinx had left her bucket of soapy water and sponge.

Veerlin sat at her desk, grading papers, and smiled brightly as Raven came in, "Now I hope the helps you to learn your lessen, Miss Roth. While differing perspectives and religions are respected here at WJCIE, we do not condone lecturing whole classes on how they're ill informed morons."

"I was only lecturing Ginger." Raven replied, "Sorry if you got the wrong impression." She could sense that Veerlin had been slightly insulted by her speech in homeroom that morning, and also that the woman was slightly afraid of her.

"We just want you to understand that-"

"It's okay, Ms. Veerlin." Raven cut her off as she lifted the sponge, "I'm quite used to people misunderstanding me and persecuting me for my spiritual views."

"I'm not trying to _persecute_ you, Miss Roth-"

"Call me Cassie, please." Raven started scrubbing away at a desk with teddy bears drawn on it. She scrubbed extra hard at their faces.

"I'm sorry, Cassie, but you have to understand that this has nothing to do with your religion or your sister's actions. This has to do with you disrupting a class with an overlong exposition on how silly and stupid Miss Hammilton is."

"So even you admit that she's stupid." Raven scrubbed harder. She was growing agitated.

"I never said that, I just-"

With an almighty crash, half the light bulbs in the room's florescent track lighting exploded, raining sparks and bits of glass down on both of them. Veerlin hurled her hands over her head with a shriek, but Raven stood perfectly still, breathing hard and trying to regain control of herself. When she was okay again, she turned back to her teacher.

Veerlin was peaking out from under her arms and glancing up at the ceiling. Raven shrugged and brushed some glass from her shoulder, "Must have been a power surge or something."

The short blonde woman looked at Raven, who stood in half light, one of the shattered light fixtures flickering sparks and blinking on and off in her direction. The entire corner behind the young woman seemed to be swallowed in shadows that the light couldn't penetrate.

"Y-you can go, Miss Roth. I think you understand what I've been trying to say, and without half the lights in the room, your task would be much too hard." she smiled a little, and as Raven felt the teacher's fear ebbing away, she drew her Soul Self back in, banishing the darkness around her, "I'll have to call maintenance and have them fix these lights before Monday."

With a start, Raven realized that it was indeed Friday, and they wouldn't have class again until after the weekend. She nodded to Veerlin, "I'll just be on my way to dinner then." she said and hurried out of the room.

* * *

Down outside the building, Raven stumbled across the path and into the shadows of a several large trees that lined the side of Westpost Hall. She leaned against one of the trunks and shook her head, banishing the cobwebs that Rage always left there.

"Hey, you okay?" with a start, Raven looked up into the tree, and sighed as she relaxed. Beast Boy crouched on one of the branches, probably having just resumed his humanoid form from that of a bird or a squirrel.

"I'm fine, Beast Boy. Just... a little out of breath."

"What'd she say to get you so worked up?" the changeling asked as he silently dropped to the ground next to her. It was impressive just how agile and silent he could be when he wanted to. He was such a goofball that she forgot sometimes that he had the same training all of them did. Robin had drilled stealth and combat into them for almost four years, and it paid off big time in situations like these.

"She just... wouldn't shut up. You know how I like my silence."

"Yeah... listen, if you ever need me to pop in so you can get a sense of normalcy-"

"Beast Boy, this is normalcy out here." she waved a hand around, "What I need is a dose of the abnormal."

He grinned, "Are you calling me abnormal?"

"I'm calling you annoying." she growled with a frown, "Aren't you supposed to be keeping track of Becka? Wait, aren't you supposed to be back at the Tower? Robin patrols the perimeter at night."

"She hasn't left the dorm yet, and I'm free to do whatever I want in my free time. It's not like Robin is going to complain about me putting in overtime." Beast Boy shrugged, "Thought I'm come... you know... check in on you..." he blushed a little.

"Oh... hell." she looked up at the moon, just starting to make it's self visible, "You're laughing at me, aren't you?" she muttered at Luna. With a sigh, she looked back down at Beast Boy, who was giving her a funny look, "We've been over this before, Gar." she tried to soften her voice. She knew he never liked it when she reminded him, "Your... crush is just that... a temporary thing." she held up a hand to cut off his protests, "I know you think I'm pretty, and I know you think that I just need a little love to break out of my shell, but what you have yet to fully grasp is that it's not just anger and fear that make my powers spiral out of control. Love, joy, or... passion..." she looked him right in the eye, "Those can make me blow things up too. Your skull most likely if you try to kiss me."

Beast Boy froze from where he had been steadily moving his face closer to hers. He was only six inches away now and he grinned sheepishly, "Sorry." he stepped back, "I know... I'll get over it someday, Rae, but for now... well, at least I can stare at your ass, right?"

"Urg." Raven turned away and started walking to the cafeteria, "Stare at this, Garfield, but don't touch, and don't dream about it."

As she walked across the campus in the moonlight, Beast Boy tilted his head to the side and watched her back. He nodded and whistled a low tone, "Very nice." he grinned and stretched, then became a bird and flew back up into the tree.

* * *

Raven plopped down in a seat across from Hanna at the dinner table and started digging through her food with a plastic fork a moment later. Only the two of them, Jinx and Janice were there, Becka and Ami strangely absent.

"That was a quick detention." Jinx arched an eyebrow.

"Power surge blew half the lights in the room up." Raven met Jinx's eyes and blinked once. The other girl understood quickly and nodded almost imperceptibly, "Veerlin sent me on my way."

"Couldn't have happened while _I_ was there." Jinx grumbled, and took another bite of her baked ham.

"Not your day I guess." Hanna shrugged, "You guys busy tonight?"

"We had a few things to unpack yet." Jinx said quickly and shot a look at Raven.

"Yeah." Raven nodded, "There's no lights out time on Friday's though, is there? We can hang out after we're done with our stuff."

"We usually... go to bed early on Friday nights." Janice replied with a smile, "You know, so we can get a good start on Saturday."

"Oh, okay." Jinx shrugged, but Raven just nodded and ate faster. As Hanna finished her fourth helping of the night, she and Janice stood up and said their goodbyes, promising to see them in the morning.

As soon as they were gone, Jinx turned to Raven, "You blew up the classroom?"

"You're not one to talk, little miss Chemistry disaster." Raven shot back, eyeing Janice's retreating back, "They're lying. They don't go to bed early on Friday nights."

"You think they're up to something?" Jinx arched an eyebrow.

"I don't think the good little second floor girls are as good as they seem."

"Heh... you think..."

"Finish quickly. We'll have to follow them if they leave."

* * *

Jinx and Raven silently crept back into their room, and quickly shut the door. As Jinx started to prepare spell components to cast the Circle of Oden, Raven stuck her head out the window. Looking to her right, she saw that the light in Becka and Hanna's room was off. Frowning, she shut the window.

"Their lights are off." she reported to Jinx, who was placing candles, "I'm going to check Ami and Janice's room in a-" she stopped as they heard a scraping from the room next to them.

"Um..." Jinx arched an eyebrow and spoke in a quiet voice, "Who's in the room next to us?"

"No one." Raven shook her head, "It's used for supplies and storage."

"So... who's in there, making all that noise?" The sound of a window opening punctuated her question.

Raven shrugged and went back to the window, looking out as best she could while it was still closed to see the window next to them.

After a moment, she saw a 2x12 plank being extended out of the window. She arched an eyebrow as it was extended the ten feet to the wall, and propped there, making a perfect bridge between the building and the outside world.

The first one to cross was Ami, dressed in tight jeans and what looked to be steel toed black hiking boots, as well as a light pink halter top that left most of her back exposed.

Next was Janice, who was wore baggy jeans and sketchers, and a mid-drift bearing sleeveless black mock turtle neck.

Raven felt Jinx hovering over her as they watched Becka crawl across next, wearing a short black skirt with a red baby tee, featuring a picture of a half dressed fairy outlined in sparkles. Hanna came last, wearing a strappy red dress and matching heals. One by one, the girls dropped off the other side of the wall. Hanna took the plank and pulled it from the window, propping it up against the wall so they could reach it when them came back.

Raven looked up at her partner with a sigh, "Dress for damage, Jinx. It looks like we're going clubbing."

* * *

"What do you think?" Jinx asked, striking a pose.

Raven looked over at her from where she was finishing the light touches of black makeup to her eyes. The former HIVE agent was dressed in tight pleather pants, a red spandex top that said 'Girl' across the front of it, and a silver link belt. Her feet were clad in black boots, and she had applied ruby red lipstick and lighter red eye shadow.

"Nice." Raven nodded, turning from her mirror. She wore tight black jeans, combat bots, a dark blue baby tee, and the same gold belt she wore with her uniform. She picked up a leather jacket from her bed and pulled it on, "They already have a good head start on us, but we'll find them. Let's move."

Jinx nodded and they walked to the window. Raven opened it and stepped out on the sill, looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching. Satisfied, she jumped and glided over the wall, touching down lightly on the other side.

Looking back up, she saw Jinx land on the top of the wall from where she had jumped from the window. Grinning down at her, the blonde haired girl leapt from her perch and performed an acrobatic flip in mid-air, landing in front of Raven with a florish.

"Show off." Raven muttered and turned to the city beyond them. She scanned the rooftops until she saw a familiar figure with a blowing cape. She nodded and he pointed off to the North.

"Let's go." Raven said, and they set off.

* * *

"How do you know where they are?" Jinx asked as they half jogged down the street.

"Robin has been tracking them from the rooftops." Raven replied. She glanced back up to check the Boy Wonder's position, and found he had disappeared. She stopped.

"Here, Raven." a voice came from the ally way next to them, and both girls turned and saw the twin pricing eyes of Robin's mask staring out of the darkness.

"What's going on?" Raven asked as she stepped into the shadows with him, Jinx hot on her heals.

"They've split into two groups. The blond one and Pullman went to the dance club around the corner, but the other two continued on down the street."

"Our interest is only in Becka." Raven shrugged, "Ami and Janice can do whatever they want."

"But..." both Titans turned and looked at Jinx, who was blushing lightly, "Um... I know I'm not really a Titan or anything, and I know I don't have any say in the matter, but I'd like to follow Ami and Janice."

"Why?" Robin arched an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

"I want to know where they're going, and I want to make sure they'll be alright..." Jinx trailed off. Raven and Robin were staring at her with frowns, "What?" she threw her arms out, "They're cool kids, alright? I just want to make sure they don't get hurt or something."

Raven glanced at Robin and he nodded to her. She turned back to Jinx, "I'll stay after Becka and Hanna then. You go after Ami and Janice, but stay back and don't let them know you're there. Robin will be with you, but you wont see him unless he wants you to. Go on before they get too far away." with that, Raven turned on her heal and stalked out of the ally.

Jinx sighed with relief and turned to the Boy Wonder, "So, where am I going?"

"West." he replied with a straight face, "To the industrial quarter."

* * *

Raven hated clubs. They were loud, smelly, and full of too many people.

As an empath she could sense far to many conflicting emotions, and it created a sea of discord in her otherwise ordered and calm mind. Extra control was needed to keep from blowing apart the whole building.

She stood in line several places behind Becka and Hanna, waiting to get in to the club. The people around her were talking and laughing, having a good time, and generally making her feel like running back to her room at the Tower and meditating for the next week. They were all such... stupid people to her.

She watched as Becka stepped up to the bouncer outside the door and flashed a drivers license at him. He nodded and let her past, then repeated the procedure with Hanna.

A few minutes later, it was her turn. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a wallet, from which she produced a license and handed it to the bouncer. He glanced at it, then at her with an arched eyebrow, "This some kind of joke?"

"Hmm?" Raven took to license back and inspected it. It was true she didn't really have a drivers license, but Cyborg's fake looked exactly like the real thing. In fact, it _was_ the real thing, except for the fact that Cassandra Roth didn't exist, "No, that's me."

"You're only seventeen." he pointed to the sign by the door, "Twenty-one and up, girl."

Raven felt her stomach bottom out. Becka and Hanna must have had fake ID's, and now she wasn't able to follow them. Unless...

Robin had told her not to use certain powers unless she absolutely had to, but she figured that this was a situation that called for it. "Have you ever heard of the Jedi mind trick?" she asked the bouncer.

"What?" he frowned at her, "Get out of line and go home, girl. You can't get in here."

She waved her hand in his face and smiled lightly, "But I can get in here."

"You can get in here."

"I'm twenty-one."

"You're twenty-one."

"You hate smoking, and you want to quit."

"I hate smoking and I want to quit." he nodded an motioned her into the club.

As she walked through the doors and into the pounding music and sweaty bodies, she smiled lightly. Influencing other peoples thoughts wasn't exactly a moral pass time, and she disliked doing it. On the rare occasions when she had to, and her limited ability to actually worked on a relatively weak mind, she liked to leave the person with a little bonus. In this case, she was sparing the bouncer from a prolonged bout of lung cancer.

"Another day, another victory." her smile slipped away as she headed for the bar. If she didn't miss her guess, that was where she would find Hanna and Becka.

* * *

Jinx peered around a dumpster and watched Janice and Ami walk past, both of them keeping to the shadows. They were doing their best to remain hidden, and stay out of sight, but next to the HIVE's training, they were as obvious as if they were shouting and flashing around spotlights. Here in the run down industrial area of town, there were several miles of old condemned buildings that cast more than enough shadows for her to keep up with them and remain unseen.

She looked up and saw Robin glaring down at her from the top of the building she was next to. He nodded and motioned her forward, and she nodded back. He'd been shadowing her the whole time, and she knew he had her back if she needed help at any time.

Moving back out into the street, Jinx walked along a half a block away from the two WJCIE students on the opposite side of the street. She had her hands jammed into her pockets and her head down, glancing up at them from time to time.

She watched as they stopped next to a wide ally and started talking. Ducking into the shadows of an abandoned car, Jinx crept along until she was directly across the street from them. The night was still, with no wind at all, so their voices carried over the crisp air clearly.

"... think you're going to do it tonight?" Janice asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah." Ami replied, "I've been working out pretty hard, and I think I can kick enough ass to at least win a few bouts."

"But what if someone challenges you?"

"I'll decline and give back the money." Ami shrugged, "They don't force you to fight here."

"I know, but... you have such a temper, and you're really competitive... I don't think it's a good idea to enter yourself as a fighter."

Jinx started as Robin's voice whispered in her ear, "Illegal street fighting club." she looked over at him and found he was crouched very close to her. She blushed lightly at his proximity, but turned back to the two girls as he continued, "There's some pretty tough guys in this thing that could take that girl apart. She'd better be careful."

"I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You have to stay out of sight, Jinx."

"And I will, unless Ami needs help." she turned her head and glared at Robin, "Don't think you can stop me."

"Don't assume I can't." Robin narrowed his eyes, "You were right when you said you weren't a Titan Jinx. I'll have you tossed back in jail if you mess this up."

"Aren't you supposed to be all about helping people?" she glared at him, "This girl needs our help, and you're just going to let her get beat up, and possibly hurt badly?"

"She'll learn her lesson." he shrugged, "I don't condone what she's doing, but it's her choice. If she'll live and learn, then all the better for her."

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"You're under my direct order to not interfere, you know _that_?"

"Fuck you, Robin."

"I wouldn't let you even touch me, _Jenny_."

"Yeah?" Jinx grinned wickedly, "Not even if I promised to give you the best blow job you've ever had?" she got a surprised look on her face for a moment, then her grin melted back into place, "Oh wait! You've probably never had a blow job! Or maybe Starfire is a little naughty sometimes?"

"Don't you talk about Star like that you-" he cut himself off as she grinned one last time, then vaulted over the car and ran for the ally way the two girls had just disappeared down.

"Jinx!" he shouted, and gave chase with a frown.

* * *

Becka took a sip of her Long Island through a straw and smiled over at Hanna, who was doing the same with her Gin and Tonic, "Good stuff, huh?"

"Expensive." Hanna replied, "They're raping us on the prices here."

"It's top shelf stuff though, so I can see it." Becka grinned and turned to the dance floor, "See any thing you like?"

"The guy with the spiky black hair there is pretty cute, and he looks like he knows how to dance."

"I'm thinking the guy over there with the red shirt looks good."

"I'm thinking you like guys with well muscled chests too much..."

Both girls giggled as Raven stalked along behind them. They were fine for now, but they were playing a dangerous game. She'd have to stay close and-

"Hey girl!" a hand fell on Raven's waist and her eye twitched, "You come her often?"

"No." Raven turned a glare the tall, thin young man who had just slinked up next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. His thumb rubbed at her side, and she noted the smell of beer on his breath. His mind was fuzzy, and he stumbled a little as she tried to move away.

"Well, why don't you let me show you around then?" he asked with a leer.

"Why don't you remove your hand from my waist before I break every bone in your body?" she growled, "You're drunk, stupid, unattractive, and far to flirty for my tastes. Go. Away."

He blinked at her, then grinned, "Playing hard to get, huh?"

"I don't play." Raven took hold of the hand he had on her waist and wrenched his thumb to the side, twisting his arm around with it, "Fuck off." she said as he gasped in pain and stumbled away from her.

"Alright! Alright!" he howled, and she let him go. He walked off, cursing under his breath, and she turned away from him and looked for her two marks.

She blinked when she found them. Hanna was already leaning on the young man she had pointed out, and Becka was talking into the ear of her chosen target.

"They move fast..." she mumbled, and started moving to a better observation point.

* * *

Jinx stood in a yelling and shouting crowd and watched with a fair amount of surprise as Ami pummeled the crap out of her opponent. The girl had good execution, and she dodged and blocked with intelligence. He only real flaw was her power, as she was a smaller girl, and couldn't throw punches or kicks very hard.

"Fast though..." she muttered as she watched the red headed girl duck under a punch from the brute she was fighting. He stumbled forward and she took the opening and exploited it for all it was worth, slamming home four solid hits to his side and back. He went down and coughed blood as she slammed a boot into his kidney.

The large man wasn't stupid, and he knew when he was too hurt to keep fighting. He stayed down and gave her the match. Ami jumped around and shouted at the crowd, then walked back to where Janice was collecting the money the two of them had just won.

"You gonna fight, chicka?" Jinx glanced to her left and saw a well muscled Hispanic man with a scar across his cheek and a black bandana looking at her with a critical eye, "You got a fighter's build."

"I know a few moves." Jinx replied, "I'm really just here to keep track of a few friends."

"Too bad. I bet you're pretty good." he shrugged, "That new girl though... she's pushing the limit." he shook his head and looked over to where Ami was helping Janice count their money, "She's only picking off the big slow guys. If one of the decent fighters here goes up against her, she's toast."

"I saw that too." Jinx nodded, "She's going to get her ass handed to her if she doesn't quit soon."

"I hear that." the man looked over at another of the fighters, and large young man with a shaved head and no shirt, "Dusty there, he doesn't like it when people come here to take our money. He doesn't like it when people only target opponents they know they can beat. He pushes himself you know? He likes a challenge. When it comes to posers like those girls though? He makes an exception and puts them in their place."

"What place is that?" Jinx arched an eyebrow.

"The hospital." the Hispanic man said with a sideways glance at her, "If you want to help your friends out, you'd get them out of here."

Jinx didn't ask how he figured that Ami and Janice were the ones she was keeping an eye on, but nodded instead. She started to move through the crowd, but her heart sank when she saw that Dusty was closer. He walked right up to Ami, and started talking to her. Ami's face got more and more red, but she seemed to keep her cool and size him up. She nodded and said a few things back to him that made the crowd around them all cheer.

Ami seemed to think that Dusty was big and slow, much like her last two opponents had been. Jinx had seen the way he walked though, and knew that this guy had more grace and speed than he seemed to. She glanced up at the rooftops and saw Robin staring back at her. He slowly nodded, and pointed to Ami.

"Alright, girl." Jinx turned back to where Ami was squaring off with Dusty, "Let's see if you really know what you're doing Ami."

* * *

Raven watched in disgust as Becka continued to make out with the young man she was sitting on top of. Hanna sat a short distance away, not at all perturbed by the way the guy she had been dancing with was rubbing his hands over her butt.

"They're... sluts..." Raven couldn't seem to get a grip on the situation at hand. These two girls seemed so nice and sensible back at the school, but now they were acting totally different. They were making out with strange men, drinking under age, and skipping out of school grounds when they weren't supposed to.

"What is going on in their heads?" Raven muttered to herself. With a shrug she sipped at the bottle of water she had bought. As long as no assassins were attempting to kill Becka, she was content to let them do whatever they wanted. It wasn't any of her business what these two got up to on their weekends...

So why did she feel so upset by it?

* * *

Ami ducked another punch and frowned in concentration. She was quickly learning that Dusty was a bit out of her league. The two fighters had been ducking and dodging up until this point in their bout, neither one landing a punch. Ami was growing visibly concerned about her ability to beat him.

"Don't show fear." Jinx mumbled, "Come on girl, you can do this... just don't let him know that you're afraid of him, and keep your head clear..."

It wasn't meant to be though. Dusty feinted, then came back in with a hard right, slamming Ami solidly across the cheek. She went down hard, crying out in pain.

It was obvious she hadn't been working on her endurance or her falls, and she hit the ground hard, scraping her arm in the process. She was dazed, and was much to slow on her defensive roll to get away from Dusty's foot as it slammed into her ribs, kicking her away from him. She moaned and tried to roll over, but his knee came down hard on her stomach.

Ami gagged and spit up blood as he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her to her feet. He spit in her face and hauled back a fist.

"This is what you get for trying to act tough, bitch!"

Jinx surged forward out of the crowd and reached out as he let the punch fly, "No!" she screamed, but it was too late, and there was a sick crunch as he punched her in the nose, blasting her back off her feet, and leaving a chunk of her hair in his hand.

As Dusty turned to see who had shouted at him, Jinx hauled back her own fist. With a shout, she slammed it home in his face, sending him reeling. A follow up kick to his ribs, then a quick open handed strike to his neck sent him to the ground, gasping for breath. Her final attack came as a well aimed punch, directly into his temple, blasting him to his back, out cold.

There was a hush as the crowd stared at the girl who had just ripped into one of their best fighters. A murmur started, then one of the men stepped forward, "Bitch! You gonna attack him like that when his back is turned?"

"You think you can take me?" Jinx shouted back at him, "Then come on! I'll beat the shit out of all of you if I have to!"

As several of them surged forward to take her up on that offer, Janice dragged Ami back and helped her come awake. The red head moaned as her eyes fluttered open, "What happened?" she asked in a groggy tone.

"You got hit really hard... but then... Jenny just came out of no where!" Janice was staring wide eyed at the spectacle before them. Ami's eyes widened as well as she took in the fury that was Jinx.

Two more men already laid on the ground, out cold. Another two were currently trying their best to find a hole in her defense, but she wasn't having any of it. With a few well aimed blows, the two fighters stumbled away from her and left her free to deal with them on an individual basis. Soon, they joined their friends.

With five men at her feet, Jinx glared at everyone around her, "You guys want me to prove just how much I meant what I said?" she asked.

There were several shaking heads and a few people declining to find out in a verbal manner as well, and Jinx grinned. Her smile vanished however when a dark form dropped into the ring of men around her.

Robin straightened up and glared at her, then at the fighters all around him, "This a bad time guys? I was going to break up this little illegal party you have going on, but I thought it was just too amusing to watch you guys get beat up by a girl." he grinned and they all took a step back from the legendary Robin, "Scatter, all of you, and I better not find you doing this again... _ever_."

Most of them started to run, but a few stayed and watched in wonder as Jinx stepped up to the Boy Wonder, "You don't scare me, bird boy. Everyone back in Gotham knows you moved out here because you couldn't cut it with the Bat."

Robin turned slowly and leveled his best glare at Jinx. She had to admit, it was a pretty good one, "If I were you, Miss, I'd help your friends get home. You don't want to start something you can't finish.

"Oh..." Jinx took up a fighting stance, "I think I can finish you off pretty damn quick, Boy Blunder."

Robin glared at her, and she knew he was wondering what the hell she was doing, but she just grinned. She couldn't pass up an opportunity to go one on one with Robin... her pride just wouldn't let her _not _do it...

* * *

Raven checked her watch as she followed a stumbling pair of high school students out of the club. It was just past midnight, and they were tanked.

"Lightweights." she muttered and followed at a safe distance. Hanna stumbled on ahead of Becka, as the burnet was still hanging on the man she had picked up at the club. They were still kissing now and then, and talking in loud voices.

"You wanna come back to my place tonight, Babe?"

"I would, but I have to get home..." Becka giggled, "Can't be out too late... gotta get up in the morning..."

"I can drop you where ever you need to be..." he grabbed her about the waist and pulled her with him up against a wall, "Come on, Babe... you've got me wanting you bad... don't be a dick tease..."

"Oh... I can show you some great things I can do to your dick, stud... just not tonight." Becka pushed him away from her and tried to walk down the street again, "Gotta go now... see ya next Friday?"

"You don't need to go anywhere, Babe..." he pushed her back to the wall and she frowned.

"Lemme go! I gotta get home!"

"Aw, don't be like that..." he ran his hands up her sides and over her breasts, "Come on Babe... you know you want it..."

"I thought I just heard her say she didn't." the young man turned to find the source of the cool voice, and saw Raven standing behind him. He arched an eyebrow.

"Fuck off." he said, and turned back to Becka, "Alright Babe, you and me are gonna have a good time tonight..."

"No! Help me! Hanna!" But Hanna was already too far away to hear. Becka looked desperately over at Raven and sobbed out, "I don't wanna... hey... Cassie?"

"Yeah." Raven reached out and grabbed the man by the hair. He cried out in pain as she yanked him back and shoved him into a parked car. He turned back to her with wild eyes and started to scream something, but stopped when he saw her.

Raven was glaring at him, her back to Becka. Her eyes were glowing with a sinister black light, and hair was blowing around her head in a non existent wind. The young man with the nice pecs gulped and ran for it.

By the time she turned back to Becka, Raven was back to normal. She stooped down and looked at the brown haired girl, "You okay?"

Becka shook her head, made a sick noise, then quickly scrambled away to an ally. Raven followed her, and carefully held back her friend's hair as she threw up for several minutes. When she was done, Becka fell back into Raven's arms and sobbed.

"Don't tell on me... I swear I don't usually get this drunk... Hanna and I were just looking for a good time is all... Cassie... don't tell my Father... don't tell anyone that... that I almost got..."

"Shhh..." Raven stroked her hair, "We'll talk in the morning. Let's just get you and Hanna back to the school for now."

With a weak nod, Becka let Raven help her up, and limped along next to her, one arm over the black haired girls shoulders.

* * *

Jinx spit a little blood and looked at Robin with a wide grin. He was actually smiling as well, a small cut above his eye telling the tail of one of her sharp kicks.

"You're kicking my ass." she said.

"I know." he replied, and attacked again. They came together in a flurry of punches, kicks, blocks and dodges, but in the end, Robin scored another several hits, finally toppling Jinx. She hit the ground and groaned.

As he took a step forward, she held out a hand, "Okay... you win..."

"Get out of here then. You're not hurt that bad... help your friend get home."

"Alright... but I'll be training, you hear me? We'll fight again someday, Robin, and when we do, I'll win."

"I'll be waiting." Robin grinned and pulled out a grappler. Firing it off, he swooped out of the ally and up into the night.

Jinx turned back to where Ami and Janice were staring at her with wide eyes. She grinned and shrugged, "I've always wanted to go toe to toe with one of Batman's apprentices. Man, he kicked my ass good."

"I've never seen anything like that before! You actually went ten minutes with Robin!" Ami was beside herself, "If I could walk, I'd be running around screaming my head off at how cool that was!"

"You can't walk?" Jinx arched an eyebrow as she stood up.

"Well... maybe... it'll be slow going..."

"Then we take it slow. Janice, get one of her arms." Jinx bent down and helped the dark haired girl lift the fair skinned red head up to her feet.

"What are you doing out here?" Janice asked in her soft voice as they started down the ally.

"I followed you guys, of course. Cassie and I saw you sneaking out, so we decided to find out where you were going."

"Oh... so she followed Hanna and Becka?"

"Yeah. Man... this is so gonna suck in the morning..."

"How much hair did I loose? Be honest..." Ami moaned.

"Enough so that we'll have to give you a shorter hair cut." Jinx noted, "Anyone know how to cut hair?"

"Hanna can do it." Janice replied.

"Good. Now why don't the two of you tell me why the hell you thought this was a good idea in the first place..."

* * *

Raven stepped out of Hanna and Becka's room with a sigh, shutting the door quietly. After getting them back over the wall and in the building, she had tucked them in and made sure they were asleep. They'd be having a meeting in the morning with all the girls on the floor, that was for sure, but until then, she was far too upset by the evenings events to do anything constructive. She needed to meditate.

Almost as soon as she sat down on her bed to do so however, she heard the tell-tale scraping noise of the plank being extended to the supply room window. She sighed again and walked over to the next room to greet her returning friends.

She was slightly shocked to see Jinx and Ami so abused, and Janice looking sheepish. With an arched eyebrow, she motioned for an explanation, "Jenny? You were supposed to make sure they stayed out of trouble."

"And I did." Jinx grinned, "Well, mostly. We're still alive, and that's the point."

"How the hell did you get so beat up? No one can beat you up." Raven reached out and relived Jinx of the burden that was Ami as Janice shuffled her feet. With blond hair flying as she shook her head, Jinx replied,

"I went a few rounds with Robin, of the Teen Titans. He broke up the little fighting club I found these two at and I just had to have a go at him..."

Raven blinked. She had been stupid enough to fight with Robin? "Okay, that's... stupid. Go to bed, and I'll patch you up when I get back. Janice, can you help me with Ami?"

"Sure." she replied quickly, "I've been stockpiling medical supplies just in case..."

* * *

Ami had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion as they worked on patching up her wounds and wrapping her bruised joints. Raven was tender in her ministrations, careful not to wake the red head after she had gone through so much.

Janice proved to be an exceptional aid, field dressing wounds like an expert. She had the hands of a surgeon, Raven noted, careful and dexterous. She would make a good doctor some day.

"Um... Cassie?" the dark haired southerner asked.

"Yes?"

"Are you... upset with us?"

"A little. This was stupid."

"Oh... sorry."

"I can see Ami doing something like this, but... why did you go?"

Janice was quiet for a moment, then she spoke up, "When I first got here... I was placed in a room with Ami... she became my best friend."

"So you went to support her?"

"No, I don't really like the fact that she likes to fight so much... it's just..." she blushed, "I... um... she was my first real... crush."

Raven blinked as she finished cleaning the large scrape on Ami's arm, "Oh."

"You're... not surprised?"

"I've seen the way you look at me."

"... Oh."

They worked in silence for a few more minutes, then the two of them tucked Ami in and left the room. They walked to the study room, both sensing the need to finish their conversation.

"So..." Janice settled on one end of the sofa and curled her legs up to her chest, playing with the hem of her jeans, "You don't think it's weird that I'm... attracted to girls?"

"No." Raven blinked as she settled on the other end of the couch, "Should I be?"

"Are... you attracted to girls?"

"No," Raven smiled, "I'm not a lesbian."

"But... you don't care that... um..."

"I may not have the best self image in the world, Janice, but I'm not exactly blind to the fact that many people find me attractive. You staring at my boobs is no different than a guy doing the same thing."

Janice blushed at that and hid her face, "Stop it. You're teasing me."

"So what?" Raven smiled again, "You are who you are, Jan, and I'm not going to freak out about that."

"I guess... I guess I'm glad, you know?" Janice smiled, "You're only the second person I've ever told..."

"Ami was the first, wasn't she?"

Janice nodded, "She knows I still harbor romantic feelings for her... but she treats me just like a sister. It's... why I take care of her."

"I'm sorry I can't return the feelings you have for me, Janice, but I'm sure that you'll find someone once you get out of this over inflated, prim and proper boarding school hell."

Janice giggled, "You don't really like it here, do you?"

"Not at all." Raven huffed, "I don't know why Mom sent me here."

"I'm glad she did... you and Jenny. We wouldn't have made it out of there without having to go to the hospital if it wasn't for her."

"And Becka would be in a sorry state if it wasn't for me." Raven sighed, "I'd like to have a floor meeting tomorrow to sort all this out. No more secrets." she glared, "If Jen and I are going to live with you, we're going to know everything."

"Okay." Janice sounded meek.

"And while we're at it... maybe you should tell the others about being a lesbian."

"Oh... I don't know, Cassie... they might... freak out, or-"

"They're your best friends, Jan." Raven said in a soft voice, "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Janice swallowed hard, "I'll think about it..."

"That's all I ask." Raven stood up, "It's been good talking to you, Janice, but I have to go patch Jenny up. Stupid bitch, trying to take on Robin of all people... I should just finish the job and kak her once and for all..."

Janice giggled and stood up as well, "Don't be too hard on her. She probably saved my life tonight." Raven nodded to her and they started in opposite directions to go to their rooms. Just before she reached her door, Raven heard Janice speak once more, "Hey, Cassie?"

"Hmm?" Raven turned and looked at her. Janice tugged at her short shirt in a nervous fashion.

"Do you think... you could... be my portrait subject?"

Raven thought about it for a moment, more surprised than anything else. She slowly nodded her head, "Sure. I'd love to."

"Okay... I think... I might have some good ideas. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Okay." Raven smiled, "Goodnight, Janice."

"'Night!" Janice smiled and ran back to her room, giggling.

"Made her night." Jinx said from where she was poking her head out of the doorway.

"Shut up." Raven replied good naturedly, "Sit down on your bed and let me patch you up."

"Thanks... really." Jinx smiled in a genuine fashion.

Raven just shook her head as she entered the room, "Can't bu-leeve you tried to go a round with Robin... stupid..."

* * *

Closing Notes: Aw, poor stupid girls. I know, I built them up as so perfect at first, then sent them crashing down with all kinds of inner conflict in this chapter. Wait for it... I screw them up even more next time! Also look for a little more back-story to explain away the minor detail of WHY THE HELL JINX IS THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! 


	3. That Which Doesn't Kill Us

Re-educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Authors Notes: I've received several reviews of this story recently, asking for an update. It _has_ been awhile, and I was close to done with it anyway, so I turned the rest of it out over the past few days, and got it all edited up. Here it is. As stated before, however, this IS a side project, and will be treated as such. The next chapter of GCC is coming along nicely, and will be up in a short time as well.. I hope.

* * *

_**Chapter Three: That which doesn't kill us...**_

* * *

**__**

Jinx winced as she pulled on a t-shirt. Her ribs were bruised, she was sure of it. Robin hadn't hurt her too badly, but he had smacked her around enough to prove who the better fighter was. The part that hurt most was that he had been able to go easy on her at all... he hadn't just beat her, he had beat her gently.

Glancing over at Raven's empty bed, she pulled a long strand of hair in front of her face and looked it over. Blond was her natural color, but she'd dyed her hair religiously every month for the past five years, and without it's pink hue, it looked strange to her.

Shrugging, she walked over to the floor length mirror and inspected her face. Raven had healed most of her injuries, but had left a few noticeable ones so that the other girls wouldn't grow suspicious. A split lip, and an ugly yellowness under her left eye marred her usually pretty features. Not the first time she'd looked like this, but it was the first time she'd looked like this in front of a school full of snooty rich brats.

Robin's words came back to her from the week before and she whispered them to the mirror, "Not winning an popularity contests any time soon, eh Jenny?"

* * *

_"You're not really winning too many popularity contests in here are you?" Robin said with an arched eyebrow._

_Jinx stared back at him from across a table in the prison's visitors ward. She wore a scowl and a fat lip._

_"One of the other girls got a lucky shot it. Named Kitty, or Kitten or something like that."_

_Robin grinned and nodded his head, "Way to go!" _

_Even with her hood drawn up and her face hidden in shadow, Jinx could see Raven roll her eyes from where she stood behind the seated Boy Wonder, "Robin, could we please get on with this?"_

_"Down to business then." Robin hesitated, as if debating weather he should speak or not. Jinx waited patiently while he made up his mind and spoke, "Jinx, we're ready to offer you a shortened sentence, or maybe even complete parole if you'd be willing to help us out." _

_She arched an eyebrow, "No way."_

_"Excuse me?" Robin looked flabbergasted, "You don't want to get out sooner?"_

_"No, I'd love to." Jinx leered at him, "I just don't want to help you, bird boy."_

_Robin looked stunned, then angry, and he was about to retort when Raven stepped up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He calmed down and let her speak, "We have a mission that we believe you to be uniquely suited for. Or I should say, Robin and Cyborg see you as being uniquely suited for. I think you're an evil twit that should stay locked up in here for the rest of eternity, but it's not my call to make."_

_"Tons more mature than what I was going to say, Rae, thanks." Robin shook his head, "Look, Jinx, here's the skinny. We need you to help us protect Senator Pullman's daughter at her exclusive private school. There's been death threats leveled at her to try to force Pullman to put thorough some rather shady legislation regarding toxic waste disposal laws."_

_"You want me to go back to school with a bunch of kids and protect this girl until you track down whoever it was that made those threats, right?"_

_"Not alone." Robin shook his head, "Raven would be with you."_

_"Whoa... wait, wait... back up..." Jinx snorted, "You're going to send Raven?"_

_"What's wrong with that?" Robin arched an eyebrow, "She's perfectly capable of blending in and-"_

_"Oh, I don't think she can't do it..." Jinx snorted, "It's just that... well, frankly, she's going to be the out cast goth girl on campus. How is she going to protect Pullman's daughter if she can't even get close to her?"_

_"Which is one reason I agreed to have a..." Raven struggled with the words for a moment, then finally spit them out, "sister come to school with me."_

_Jinx burst out laughing, "Oh man! I'm half tempted to do it just so I can bug the hell out of you!"_

* * *

Stepping into the main room of the second floor, Jinx found Raven sitting on the couch with her legs folded under her. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing deeply. Meditation, she had said, was important for her to control her powers.

Being careful not to disturb her, Jinx walked to the stairwell and started down to the main floor. She wanted to sneak some food back up to the dorm so the other girls wouldn't have to leave if they didn't want to. After such a hard time the night before, she felt like doing something nice for all of them, especially if it meant getting on their good sides a little better.

As she entered the lobby, Jinx saw several girls milling about. Checking her watch, she saw that it was still only half past seven, "Early risers club I guess." she muttered and started for the doors.

Just as she was about to walk out, there was a gasp from next to her. She started and looked over to see what the problem was.

"My God!" a shorter girl covered her freckled face with one hand, "What happened to your face?"

Jinx blinked. Oops.

"I... uh... fell down the stairs a little way. Face planted." she rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, lost my balance and tripped."

"Does it hurt very badly? You should go see the nurse-"

"I'm fine. Ribs are a little sore, but I'm fine." Jinx winked, "I'm a tough little cookie."

"Well, okay, but if it starts to hurt any more than it does, you should see the nurse. She'll fix you right up."

"I'll do that, thanks." Jinx nodded with a smile and set off for the cafeteria, more memories of the recent past rising unbidden into her mind.

* * *

_Jinx walked through the prison yard slowly, finally coming to a stop in front of the hulking mass that was Cyborg._

_"Hey Jinx." he said softly, a frown etched on his face, and his eyes averted from hers._

_"Hey Vic." she replied with a weak smile._

_"You wanted to talk to me?" he asked as he motioned for them to take a walk. It was her cell block's time to be out in the yard, working out, stretching their legs, and getting a little exercise so they wouldn't fall apart from sitting in jail cells all day long._

_"Yeah... I talked to Robin and Raven about this mission thing you guys want me to do, and Raven... well, she mentioned that you and Robin thought I was the best girl for the job."_

_"Yeah. I convinced him." Cy still wasn't looking at her, but he had responded quickly, giving her the impression that he already knew why she'd asked him here. _

_"Why?" she reached out and touched his arm, making his stop and stare down at her small hand. She drew back and looked away from him even as his eyes finally rested on her, "Why'd you convince Robin to ask me to do this for you?"_

_He took a deep breath and then let it out. With a wave of his large, metal hand, he spoke, "I just... thought you deserved a second chance. After all, the last time we fought, Brother Blood was controlling you. I thought that maybe... you know... you weren't all bad."_

_"Those times when we were in class, the school dance... the times when we flirted..." she blinked a few times, "He didn't make me do those things. You know that, right?"_

_"Yeah, I know. I don't know how, but I could tell he wasn't controlling you for those times... you made the HIVE feel more like... well, anyway, I just kind of felt like I owed you this."_

_"You don't owe me anything." she started to walk away from him, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her._

_"I owe you more than you think, Jinx." he pulled her back and wrapped an arm around her chest, hugging her to him from behind, "You were half the reason I lost track of my mission while I was at the HIVE... I saw... a different side of you then, and that made me realize... the criminals we fight aren't just bad guys that need to be pummeled... they're people too... people that probably just need some love and direction." _

_"So you're offering me love and direction?" she asked as she gripped his hand._

_"Well... direction anyway. Love... well, that's up to you I guess, after the mission is over." _

_"You're a nice guy, you know that Vic?" _

_"And I think you could be a nice girl if you tried... Jenny."_

* * *

As she climbed the steps back up to the second floor of the dorm, Jinx smiled at the memory. It had been the first time she'd heard her real name used in years, and it had seemed oddly appropriate that it had come from Cyborg. The more she thought about him, the more she fell for him.

"Wudda man..." she murmured dreamily as she stepped through the door and into the main room of the floor. She was only half surprised to see that Janice and Ami had joined Raven.

"Food." she stated simply as she lay down the filched tray of bagels and cream cheese.

"Oh good." Ami grabbed one of each, as well as a plastic knife to spread with, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to try and traverse the stairs for a day or two."

Raven smiled slightly at Jinx's thoughtfulness, "I'm going to check on Hanna and Becka. Be right back."

"Kay." the three other girls said in unison. Jinx inspected Ami's face, and flinched.

"Damn. You made out worse than I did." she frowned, "Sorry I didn't get to that bastard before he hit you that last time."

Ami touched the bruising around her nose lightly and winced, "So'kay. It was stupid of me to try an fight someone so obviously out of my league. I'm surprised he didn't break my nose to be honest."

Jinx nodded. She suspected Raven had something to do with that, maybe using her healing powers on the sly. Turing her attention to Janice, she smiled, "And how are you doing?"

"I'm tiered, and a little worried that Cassie is going to scold us like she's our mother or something, but I'm fine other than that."

Again, Jinx nodded, "Yeah, Cass can be like that... all maternal and stuff." They lapsed back into silence, and the recent past came back to Jinx again as they chewed their light breakfast.

* * *

_Raven glared at her across the table, and Jinx fidgeted, "Could you stop staring at my soul please?"_

_"I'm just trying to tell if you're pulling my leg or not. You're sure you want to except this mission?" _

_"Yeah. I... it's time to grow up. I can't keep acting like all the things I've done haven't been wrong or evil... I'm not fifteen anymore, and I can't act like it." Jinx held her chin up, proud of her decision. It had taken her two days of thinking about it, but she had finally believed what Cyborg had told her. She could be a good guy if she tried._

_Raven slowly nodded, "Okay... I'll buy that for now." she looked over at the warden, who was standing in the corner, and nodded. He smiled nervously and rushed off. "The paper work will be taken care of in less than an hour, and you'll be remanded to my custody-"_

_"Whoa... wait..." Jinx waved her hands, "You're custody? I thought I'd be answering to the Titans leader... meaning Robin." _

_Raven arched an eyebrow, "Actually, since I was the one who approached him about founding the Titans in the first place, I have more seniority on the team than he does." Jinx's mouth fell open and she stared._

_"The Titans were your idea?"_

_"Yes." Raven nodded, supremely calm, "The second item of consideration is that while he is a fine, upstanding young man, Robin is still an eighteen year old boy, and the JCPD expressed certain... concerns about remanding an eighteen year old girl to his custody." _

_"They think he'd try to take advantage of me?" Jinx looked even more stunned._

_"If there's one thing we've learned dealing with the adults who run this city, it's that while they trust us as crime fighters, they don't trust us as teenagers any more than they do their own sons and daughters. They wanted you placed in the charge of another female, and since I'm slightly more... responsible than Starfire, and since I'll be going on the mission with you, I was the obvious choice." _

_Jinx picked up something else in Raven's tone, though, and leaned forward a little on the table, "What else? There's something else."_

_"I don't know what you're talking about." _

_"Come on... I can see it in your eyes. You might be Miss Ice Queen to everyone else, but I can read another girl like a book. What's bugging you?"_

_"Why do you care?" Raven started to stand up._

_"Because we're sisters, remember?" Jinx pinned her with a glare, and Raven returned it for a moment, then sat back down. She took a deep breath, let it out, then glared again._

_"I realize that I'm not exactly the most... personable girl in the world. I'm hoping that by spending a good deal of time around you, I might be able to pick up a few traits that will allow me to blend in better with the girls at this school we'll be going to, and maybe even... allow me to understand my friends better." _

_"Whoa." Jinx blinked, "I wasn't really expecting that much honesty..." _

_"Get used to it. We're going to have to do more than act like sisters if we're going to pull this off... we're going to need to think like sisters."_

_"How do you suggest we do that?"_

_"We can start by caring about each other." Raven lowered her hood and pushed a strand of hair out of her face, "My full name is Raven Cassandra Roth. For the purposes of this mission, I'll be Cassie Roth, and you'll be Jenny Wrangler. Step sisters." _

_"I want to have the father we share then." Jinx smiled weakly, "It'd be nice to pretend I actually had a dad who cared..."_

_"That's fine..." Raven looked away, "It'll be nice for me to pretend I have a mother who I could actually see and talk to, and that she found me a better father." _

_There was an oppressive silence in the room for a few moments, then Jinx stretched and stood up, "So," she said with a half grin, "what do we do now, Sis?"_

* * *

Raven reappeared fifteen minutes later, Becka and Hanna in tow. The two of them looked exactly how they felt, which was hung over and exhusted.

"So why did you drag us out of bed, Cassie?" Becka asked as she fell to the couch next to Janice and leaned her head on the dark haired girls shoulder.

"Yeah... I'm still kind of drunk and I need to sleep this shit off..." Hanna's foul language didn't seem to shock anyone, and she sat heavily on a chair across from where Jinx was sitting.

"I just wanted to have a quick floor meeting." Raven looked around at all of them and, satisfied that she had their attention, continued, "If the four of you want to sneak out from now on, that's cool. We're not going to tell on you, but you have to trust us enough to tell us when you're going to do it." The four girls exchanged looks, slightly shocked that she wasn't yelling at them, "Either we'll want to go with you, or we'll be able to stay back and come up with a good cover story if Veerlin comes looking for you. It's just smart." shrugging, Raven sat down on the arm of the couch, waiting for anyone else to speak.

"Okay." Ami shrugged, "I don't see a problem with that."

"The only problem I see is you going to another fight." Jinx pointed at the red head, "You're not ready."

"And you're an expert?" Ami snapped, then thought about it, "Well, after seeing you fight Robin like that, I guess you kind of are aren't you?"

"Whoa!" Becka sat up a little bit, "You fought with Robin?"

"Only for a few minutes..." Jinx blushed lightly, "And he kicked my ass too..."

"Try ten minutes, and you got a few good shots in." Janice spoke softly, "Jenny is one hell of a fighter."

"Years of practice." Raven said.

"And you..." Becka motioned to the black haired girl, "You saved me from that jerk last night."

"I don't like date rape." Raven shrugged.

"Years of living in Gotham." Jinx put it. Raven nodded.

There was silence for a few moments, then Hanna spoke, "I think we'll all be staying in for the rest of the weekend."

"I think that's a good idea." Raven nodded, "Becka, Hanna... get some more rest. Doctors orders." she smiled, then turned to Ami, "The same goes for you. You got beat up pretty bad. We'll fix your hair later tonight."

Ami fingered the spot on her skull where she'd lost a good chunk of her hair the night before, "Yeah." she frowned.

"Any orders for the two of us, doc?" Jinx asked, motioning to herself and Janice.

"Yeah. You get more rest as well, then finish your homework, since I know you wont unless I tell you too." Raven glared at Jinx, then turned to Janice with a smile, "And you and I can work on your portrait."

Janice nodded with a smile. Ami looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment, then smiled a little as well. "Hey," she poked her southern born roommate, "Let's get your stuff together. I have a question for you anyway."

Janice nodded, "Okay." and they got up and walked down the hall to their room. Becka and Hanna both waved a little as they stumbled back to their room as well, leaving Jinx and Raven alone.

"Trust is hard to build sometimes." Raven noted.

"I think we're doing a good job of it. It really feels like we've all been friends for way longer than we have."

"Yeah." Raven nodded, "Mostly thanks to you, I might add. You've already been a great help on this mission."

"Told you I would be."

"I never said I didn't believe you." Raven stood up, "I'm going to see if Janice wants me to wear anything in particular. Rest up, Jenny."

"Yeah." as Jinx watched Raven's retreating back, she thought back to a conversation they had had less than a week ago.

* * *

_"Damnit!" Raven hurled the eye liner across the room from where she sat in front of a pink vanity in Starfire's room, "Kori, could you please go get something easier to work with than this crap?"_

_Starfire, standing next to her, blinked, "I am sorry, Raven. I will venture to the mall of shopping in an attempt to find liner of the eyes in a liquid variety for you. It goes on much easier."_

_"Sorry for snapping." Raven sighed, "I just don't do makeup."_

_"But Cassie Roth does, cause she's a normal goth chick." Jinx walked into the room, "What'da ya think, Star?" _

_Starfire turned and took in the pink haired girls wilding grinning visage. She had done herself up perfectly, and looked quite stunning. Star squealed, "You look wonderful! If only Raven would take to the making up like you do!"_

_"I'm still here, you know." Raven glared at her red headed friend. Star made a slightly strangled noise and nodded fervently._

_"Yes! I am sorry, Raven! I shall return with the liner of the eyes shortly!" and she flew off at a rapid pace._

_"Having trouble with the eye liner?" Jinx asked with an arched eyebrow._

_"Yes." Raven turned back to the mirror of Starfire's vanity. She had managed to master all the makeup except the eyeliner. Sticking things in her eyes didn't seem logical to her, even if it made her pretty._

_"It's a hard one to learn. Took me almost a month to get it right."_

_"Yeah, when you were twelve. I'm eighteen and I can't even put on lipstick without a mirror."_

_"Why not? Haven't you ever wondered what you would look like-"_

_Raven cut her off, "No. I can't afford to want anything. All I can do is keep control." _

_"Bummer." Jinx rubbed her arm, and Raven glanced at the bandage there. It was left over from the minor surgical procedure Cyborg had preformed to put the tracking chip in her arm. Raven sensed that it didn't hurt so much as it itched. Still, she herself hated having an itch she knew she couldn't scratch, so she gave in to her instinct to help. _

_"Let me see that." she sighed and held out her hand. _

_"What? Cy said it would be fine by tomorrow." _

_"Let me see your arm, Jenny." Raven repeated in a softer voice. Jinx was hesitant, but eventually held out her arm. Raven gently removed the bandaged, then held her hand over the surgical scar. A black glow later, and Jinx's flesh was smooth and unmarred once again._

_"Whoa... white magic..."_

_"Empathic feedback healing, actually. It's not hard." _

_"Guess not. Hey, thanks."_

_Raven blinked, "You feel so surprised." _

_"Stop doing that, it's creepy. And why shouldn't I be? You hate me."_

_"I never said I hated you." Raven tilted her head to the side, "Sorry if you got that impression. I might even be forming a bit of a friendship with you. In a... step sisterly manner." _

_"That's odd. Didn't think we'd ever get along."_

_"I have far more in common with you than I do with the other Titans. We can... understand each other, I think."_

_"Yeah." Jinx nodded, "So, want me to show you the eye liner trick?"_

_"Goddess, yes..." Raven rolled her eyes, "Kori means well, but I don't think she quite grasps the idea that human eyes poke out when extreme force is applied to them..."_

* * *

Jinx sat at her desk in the room she and Raven were sharing, staring at the worksheet she was supposed to be working on. Robin had insisted that they do all the work themselves, since it would seem more natural that way, getting some of the answers wrong, and doing well in certain subjects.

The only problem with his idea was that Jinx wasn't really good at any normal subjects. The majority of her classes had been things like Grand Larceny 101, and Doomsday Device Construction. She could wire a C4 detonator in ten seconds flat, and she knew how to kill people by poking them in just the right way, but history of the Napoleonic Wars? Who actually needed to know that kind of stuff?

A tapping at the window drew her attention away from her blank worksheet. Glancing over, she saw a green starling sitting on the sill outside, eyeing her. Rolling her eyes, she got up and let him in.

As soon as he fluttered to Raven's bed, Beast Boy became himself again and grinned at her, "How you holding up?" he asked in a low tone.

"I'm fine, except now I realize that if I'm going to change, I'll have to do it with the blinds closed." she frowned and glanced out the window again, "You haven't been peeking have you?"

"No!" he replied a little too quickly, and his voice was a little higher pitched than normal. Jinx narrowed her eyes.

"Free shows are over, B. And I'm telling Raven."

"Wha...? No way! You can't! I mean, she'll kill me!"

"Nothing you wouldn't deserve."

"Please!"

She eyed him with a nasty grin, "On one condition."

"Anything!" Beast Boy was glancing at the door now, as if he expected Raven to burst in at any second and dismember him.

"I want you to convince Robin to take Starfire out on a date tonight."

Her condition was met with ringing silence. Of all the things he had expected her to demand of him, Beast Boy certainly never expected that one, "Um... you sure that's it?"

"Yep. That's all I want."

"Um... okay." he relaxed a little, "Speaking of Robin, he wanted me to stop in and check on you. Heard he beat the crap out of you last night."

"Yeah..." she grinned, "Raven healed me up pretty good, but had to leave enough for me to look like he'd kicked me around. The bruised ribs are the worst of it, really."

"You're a tough girl, you know that?"

"I try to be." she grinned suddenly, and turned to the door. Holding out her hands, she mumbled a few words under her breath and tossed a flash of pink energy at it. It glowed once, then was normal again.

"What the hell was that?" Beast Boy looked confused.

"Silencing spell." she said in a normal tone, "Now no one can hear us."

"Oh, that's cool."

"Are you ticklish?"

"Yeah, Star loves to pin me down and-" he stopped as she grinned, "Oh no! You're hurt and I don't want to hurt you more by thrashing around!"

"Then don't thrash too much!" she grinned wider, "Come on! You're a boy in my girls dorm room, and you're sitting on my roommates bed! Let me live a fantasy!"

"I am not boffing you on Raven's bed!"

"I'll be the judge of that!" and she pounced on him.

"Jinx!" he cried as she started tickling, "Cut it out!" he was laughing too hard to fight her though, and she continued to wrestle him down and tickle him mercilessly.

After a few more moments of the torment, the door latch clicked at they froze. Raven stepped into the room, inspected the situation with wide eyes, then quickly shut the door behind her. She frowned at the two of them.

Beast Boy lay on his back, his hands on Jinx's shoulders, and his legs intertwined with hers. Jinx was laying on top of him, her hands on his chest and side, fingers splayed out. They both had wide eyed looks of terror on their faces as Raven glared at them.

The dark psion stared for a few moments, then, in a soft, deadly voice, asked, "What in the seven hells are the two of you doing on my bed?"

"Um..." Beast Boy started to open his mouth, but Raven held up a hand.

"You know what? Never mind. Just... Gar, get out of here before I kill you both."

"Okay!" he moved Jinx off of him jumped for the window, turning back into the starling as he did. Jinx lunged after him and squeezed the squawking bird in her grasp before it could escape.

Bringing him up to her eye level, she glared at him, "Remember our deal, Beast Boy." The bird nodded, so she let it go and watched it fly off.

"What deal?" Raven sounded suspicious.

"Can we pull the blinds when we change from now on?" Jinx asked.

Raven stopped for a moment, looking utterly shocked, then horrified, then enraged, "That little green pervert! I'll kill him!"

"I promised not to tell you if he did me a favor. You figured that one out on your own."

Raven was already ripping the sheets off her bed, "Can't believe I didn't think of that... damnit all..."

Jinx eyed her, "Um... Rave, we didn't actually DO anything on your bed you know..."

"Not even you could be desperate enough to fuck Beast Boy, Jenny. No, this is what I'm wearing for Janice's portrait."

"A sheet?"

"Kind of a toga thing." Raven shrugged, "We'll be on the roof if you need us."

"Okay... hey, don't forget to report in to Robin."

"I'll do it later."

"Okay." Jinx watched her a moment longer, then turned back to her work sheet as Raven stalked out of the room with her sheet.

* * *

_Jinx and Raven sat next to each other at the table of the seldom used briefing room in Titans Tower. Robin had left them just moments before, after giving them their identity packages and a basic run down of what their false history together was going to be._

_The two of them sat in silence, both reading the finer details of who they would become for the mission they were about to undertake. Jinx's heart wasn't in it though. She had always been a cram-at-the-last minuet kind of girl. She turned to Raven._

_"Hey..."_

_Raven's eyes didn't leave the page she was reading, "What?"_

_Jinx grinned, "I think Beast Boy has a little crush on you..."_

_Again, Raven didn't seem to be letting her attention wander far, "I know." _

_The pink haired girl frowned, "So, if you know, why haven't you done anything about it?"_

_"I have." Raven glanced at her for the first time, "I told him to forget about it. If he continues to harbor romantic feelings for me even after I've told him we have no future together, that's his problem."_

_"Damn. You're cold, Rae."_

_"Don't call me that." _

_"Cyborg and Beast Boy call you that."_

_"Cyborg and Beast Boy are my friends." _

_Jinx was silent for a moment, then spoke again, more softly, "Did I do something to piss you off? I thought we were getting on pretty well..."_

_"We were, until you decided to ignore your responsibilities to this mission to yak about Beast Boy's pathetic crush on me." _

_"Pathetic? Raven, the guy likes you, and he thinks you're cute. That's not pathetic. It's actually kind of adorable."_

_"You date him then."_

_"But he doesn't want me..."_

_"I told you not to get any ideas about hooking me up with some random guy." _

_"Beast Boy isn't a random guy, he's-"_

_WHAM! Raven slammed her fist into the table, and her eyes flashed a dangerous looking red color, "Would you drop it already? Do you see what emotion does to me?" _

_Jinx shrunk back a little as Raven struggled to regain control. After a moment, she was fine. The purple haired psion quickly gathered her papers together and stood up. Jinx hastily followed suit._

_"Look, Raven, I'm sorry I pressed so much, I just..."_

_"It's fine." Raven held up a hand to cut off further protests, "You just need to learn that I can't feel. It's not a matter of what, or how much. I just... can't."_

_"Is there anything I can-"_

_"I'm going to meditate. The best thing you can do for me right now is leave me alone." _

_Jinx stood and watched the flapping blue cloak as the dark Titan swept out of the room._

* * *

Raven climbed up through the roof hatch and on to the top of the girls dorm. Glancing around, she saw Janice setting up her easel near a chair that had also been brought up. Smiling, she walked over to the burnet.

"I brought the sheet." she held it up for emphasis, "How do you want to do this?"

Janice glanced around her canvas and examined the sky line behind the chair. It was quite the panoramic view of Jump City, with the buildings providing an excellent back drop. The view she had chosen made it look as if the sky scrapers were parting, and letting the ocean beyond climb ashore. It made for some stunning sun sets.

"Just sit in the chair I guess. We'll work on pose later. Right now I just want to get stuff set..." she paused, then gained a little confidence, "Um... you'll have to... take off your shirt."

Raven shrugged, hoping Beast Boy wasn't still flapping around, "Sure."

As she sat down, she stripped off her shirt and wrapped the sheet around herself like a toga. Looking down at her exposed shoulder, she frowned, and shoved the bra strap down to hide it. "This okay?"

Janice looked up again from where she was preparing her paints, "Oh, yeah, that's perfect." she smiled widely, "Let's see... could you... turn just a little to the left, then raise your chin a bit... perfect. Can you hold that?"

Raven nodded a little, "I think so. Sketch away."

Janice smiled again and started drawing out a rough design on her canvas with a pencil.

* * *

A half hour later, the southerner stood back from her drawing and shook her head, "It's not right. I don't think this piece is going to work with the mixed Greek/cityscape thing. It's just not the urban isolation theme I was going for..."

Raven blinked, and decided to help out a little. She pushed her powers out and scanned the other girls emotions. Nodding in understanding, she said, "You're looking to show how we're really just people under all the civilization. That we came from the past, and we live in the present, right?"

"Yeah." Janice nodded, and Raven started to change her pose while she expounded, "It's like... we all live here and now, but before the here and now, there were the people that came before us... but we really are just like those people. Just in bigger cities, with more worries and stresses, and... Cassie! What are you doing!"

Raven looked up from where she was arranging the sheet around her waist as a kind of skirt. She'd kicked the chair aside, and stood up in front of the building backdrop. Her pale skin shown white against her dull black hair, almost glowing in the sunlight.

What had shocked Janice, however, was that Raven had discarded her bra, throwing it on top of her shirt next to the kicked over chair. She now looked like she was wearing a flowing white skirt, and nothing else.

"Does this accomplish your goals better?" the psion asked her friend.

Janice was gaping at her, "Damn... you look even better than I thought you would..."

"Try to stay focused, Jan." Raven rolled her eyes.

Janice shook her head, "Right... that painting..." she tried to inspect the scene before her in a purely artistic manner, "You know... you're right! This is perfect! Okay, starting over... damn. Can you lift your arms a little?"

Raven posed, and Janice thought she was going to swoon, "Ohmigod! Okay, that's better than perfect! Hold it, and I'll draw fast!"

* * *

_"You know, for a girl who hardly ever leaves her room, you have an awful lot of clubbing clothes." Jinx lifted a tight, blue, mid-drift bearing top up to her eye level and inspected the intertwining silver patterns more closely._

_"Missions sometimes require us to wear things other than our costumes." Raven shrugged as she folded a t-shirt neatly and placed it in her suitcase, "I recall a time I impersonated a scarecrow, and I'm not afraid to admit that Robin looks pretty good in a tux." _

_"Whoa..." Jinx looked over at the purple haired psion with a hint of fear in her eyes, "Who are you and what did you do with Raven? Was that a comment about a boy's physical attributes I just heard come out of your mouth?"_

_Raven almost smiled. Almost. "Just because I can't feel emotion, doesn't mean I can't appreciate the sights around me. Sunsets are one of my favorite times of day, and a handsome man in a good tux has always caught my eye." _

_Jinx grinned, "Maybe there'll be a prom or something while we're at WJCIE. No shortage of hot boys in tuxes there." _

_Rolling her eyes, Raven folded a pair of jeans, "One track mind much, Jinx? You haven't talked about anything except boys and my love life all day. Which, of course, is pretty pathetic, considering I have no love life."_

_"You know... I think Robin may have ulterior motives for sending us on this mission." Jinx said out of the blue as she put down the blue top. She stared at Raven intently._

_"What motives would that be?" Raven asked in a lazy sort of way, not really caring to hear the other girls theories. _

_"I think he might want you to loosen up a bit." _

_"Oh, yes, definitely." Raven nodded fervently, "Sending me into high school to protect a girl I don't even know from what could be very lethal and dangerous assassins is certainly what I would call loosening up."_

_"Point. But look at it this way. You're being sent into a high school where you'll live in an all girls dorm, be hit on my cute boys your own age, spend an inordinate amount of time with yours truly, and quite possibly, make a few new friends."_

_"We're not going on this mission to make friends, or to play games, Jinx. We're going to prevent the assassination of Rebecca Pullman." _

_"And while we're there, I'm making it my mission to get you to loosen up." _

_"Oh really?"_

_"Mark my words..." Jinx grinned, "When you come back to the tower, you'll have one of these." and she stuck out her tongue, revealing the black bar through it, topped on both ends by pink balls._

* * *

Jinx sat up with a start. Glancing around the room, she saw that it was rapidly getting darker, and the sunlight that was left was shining through the windows in blood red slats. Sitting up off her desk, she noted to small puddle of her own drool marring her untouched homework, and shook her head once to wake up.

"Must have fallen asleep." she muttered, then rose from the chair. Unless she missed her guess, Beast Boy would have switched up patrols by now, which meant that Robin would be there. By Robin was suposed to be out on a date with Starfire, so that meant the final Titan would be standing watch this night.

Moving quickly, she opened the window and checked all around to see if anyone was watching. Satisfied that she was alone and undetected, she crouched on the sill and then leapt like a cat across the gap between the window and the wall, landing on top of the stone with ease. With another application of power, she was sailing off the wall and down to the street below.

Landing in a crouch, she glanced around at the rooftops, then took off at a sprint. She had made it to a fire escape a moment later, and was on top of the building it was attached to a moment after that. Taking one last look around, she spotted her quarry.

Running full out across the rooftop, she jumped out over the street and added a burst of pink energy behind herself to propel her. Flying across the street, she landed on the building top there, not more than six feet from the hulking form of Cyborg.

"Hey tall, dark, and mechanical." She grinned a feral grin, "You come here often?"

He arched an eyebrow back, "Aren't you supposed to be undercover?"

"I doubt anyone saw me, and if they find me missing they'll just assume I went to dinner." she shrugged, "I wanted to see you."

"Is that why you convinced Beast Boy to set up Star and Robin?"

"Yep."

"Tricky girl." he grinned, "Same old Jenny."

"Same old Vic, too. How've you been these past few days?"

"Well, with Robin and Beast Boy pulling twelve hour sentinel duty over here, it's down to me and Star to take care of the city. Nothing major yet, but we've stopped a fair bit of crime."

"That's cool." He smiled at her and sat down, looking out at the sunset beyond the buildings, the fiery orb sinking into the ocean. She followed his gaze and saw Raven standing on the roof of their dorm, topless.

"Holy shit."

"She's been like that for almost four hours now. Hardly ever lowers her arms. Beast Boy was beside himself."

"And she was freaking out about him peeking in the dorm room window." Jinx walked over and took a seat next to him.

"That's just one of those funny things about Raven that you get used to after awhile. She doesn't like it when it's taken from her, but if she offers it willingly, she's fine with it."

"I'm getting prints made of that painting, and sending them to Playboy."

"Your funeral."

They sat in silence for a short time, watching the sunset together. Eventually, Jinx leaned her head over to rest on his shoulder and sighed in a dreamy kind of way.

"Hey," he poked her, "What's going on in that crazy head of yours?"

"Nothing much," she responded as he put an arm around her and drew her a little closer, "Just thinking about the future."

"Well, if you keep up the good work down there, you stand a good shot at becoming a Titan. Robin's pretty impressed with you so far."

She snorted, "Wouldn't have known it the way he kicked the shit out of me last night."

"Yeah, well... he's funny like that sometimes."

"Oh yeah. He's a real riot."

Cyborg chuckled, "You should get back soon."

"Yeah." Jinx snuggled a little closer to him, and hugged his massive frame, "But it'll be easier to do when it's dark, don't you think?"

Cyborg laughed again, and they continued to watch the sun dip below the horizon.

* * *

Raven and Janice kept at the painting as long as they could before it got to dark to continue. After Raven had dressed and the two of them had cleaned up the painting supplies, they set off back to the second floor.

"You up for dinner?" Raven asked as Janice stopped outside her and Ami's room.

"Sure. I'll be down in a bit... just want to check in on Ami really quick."

"Alright." Raven nodded with a brief smile, then started off for the mess hall alone. She trooped down the steps to the entrance hall of the dorm, then started for the doors. A group of girls giggled at something as she walked past them, and she turned her head to see what it was.

As she shook her head at the picture of a boy they were twittering over, she pushed open the main doors and ran squarely into another girl. They both started to fall back, but Raven shot out her hand and grabbed the girls arm, steadying herself on the door frame.

"Whoa... sorry." she mumbled.

"It's quite alright." the girl replied with a faint smile. She was slightly taller than Raven was, and had a slim built. Her hair was so light and fair that it looked white, and her light, pale skin marked her as being from somewhere other than California. Raven's violet eyes met the other girls blue ones, a color so intense that it cause a shiver to run up the empath's spine.

A brief flash of one dark eye staring out of the darkness burst into Raven's mind, but was gone before she could decipher it. She let go of the other girls arm.

"Guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"I should have been paying more attention myself. I was absorbed in bidding Wintergreen fair well." at Raven's blank look, she explained, "He's the servant my family employs. Almost like a second father to me."

"Ah. I see." Raven took in the girls smart dress and blouse, as well as her traveling coat, "You're new?" she asked, noting the suitcase sitting behind the girl on the steps as well.

"Yes. I just arrived, actually."

Raven nodded. She was supposed to act normal, and make friends. She was supposed to make networks, and gain contacts to help her surreptitiously keep an eye on Becka. This was a good opportunity, especially since she wasn't feeling anything except genuine politeness from the girl before her.

"I'm Cassandra Roth, second floor." she held out her hand.

"I'm please to meet you, Cassandra. I'll be on the first floor down here," she pointed to the door that led to the hallway with the private, one person rooms, "and my name is Rose." she smiled a smile that somehow tugged at a memory in the back of Raven's mind, "Rose Wilson."

* * *

Closing Notes: Ah ha! Two chapters before I get to the back story, and now three chapters before an actual plot line begins to take form! Tune in next time for more mad cap mayhem, and lots more pointless banter! 


	4. Aside 1: Painting the Town Red

_**Aside #1: Painting the town red...**_

* * *

**__**

Robin squinted at the computer screen in his room as he took another sip of his coffee. Having just woken up an hour before to get ready to take over for Beast Boy on patrol duty around the West Jump City Institute for Education, he was still slightly groggy. He'd never admit it to anyone, but his scuffle with Jinx had taken more out of him then he had let on. His jaw still hurt from that roundhouse kick...

Just as he was closing the window of the news website he visited to get his current events, his bedroom door opened and Beast Boy strolled in casually. Robin arched an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you still be out on patrol?"

"Cyborg went on over to take over for us." Beast Boy picked up a bird-a-rang and flipped it's razor sharp edges open. One cut his finger and he dropped the deadly instrument with a yelp of pain.

Robin's other eyebrow joined his first one near the top of his hairline, "Shouldn't Cyborg be getting ready to patrol the city with Star?"

"Nope. I'm taking over the city patrol tonight for him and Star."

"What?" Robin looked confused, "So wait..." he rubbed his eyes with an exasperated sigh, "You just spent the last twelve hours patrolling around WJCIE, and now you're going to spend the next ten hours patrolling the city, get two hours of sleep, and be good to spend another twelve hours watching Raven's back?"

"Yep." Beast Boy nodded as he stuck his slightly bleeding finger in his mouth.

The Boy Wonder sighed again, "Okay, I know I'm going to regret asking this question, but... why?"

"Because you, my spandex clad chum, are going to take a certain red haired alien girl out on the town tonight, and treat her like the princess she is."

"Beast Boy, we can't shirk our responsibilities to the city just so I can take Star on a date that you, for some unknown reason, insist has to take place tonight." Robin stood up, "Get to bed, man. I'll reissue orders to Cybrog and get Star started on her patrol."

"Nothin doin Wonder Boy." Beast Boy placed himself in the doorway, "You're taking Star out tonight. I'm to make sure it happens on pain of death."

"Who's going to kill you if I don't?" Robin folded his arms over his chest.

"Raven. And Jinx will probably help her."

The raven haired Teen Wonder smirked, "They found out about you peeking in on them changing, didn't they?"

Beast Boy was frozen in place for a moment, then nodded miserably, "Yeah."

"So they ordered you to make me take Star out?" Robin was getting confused again.

"Jinx did. Said she'd tell Raven if I didn't do it."

"Why the hell did she tell you to do that?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. Contrary to all outward appearances, he wasn't as stupid as he looked or acted, "Probably because she knew that if you weren't watching the place, then Cy would be, and she wants to jump his titanium exoskeleton bones."

"The fuck?" Robin arched his eyebrow again, "Since when is she lusting after Vic?"

"Since the HIVE infiltration, dude! Don't you pay attention to anything other than reports of criminal activity?"

"Not really." Robin shrugged.

"Well, let me inform you of another fact you seem to have overlooked," Beast Boy walked up to him and leaned in until their noses were almost touching, "Kori is head over heals for you, Wonder Boy, and she'll be the happiest person on the planet, Tameranian, Human, or otherwise, when you go ask her out tonight." he poked Robin in the chest, "So change into something nice, and go be all romantic and stuff. If not for my continued existence with my balls still attached to me, then for her sake, you oblivious dolt."

"Did _you_ just call _me_ a dolt?"

"Which I think speaks for just how seriously right I am in this situation. Don't worry about Jump for the night, Robbie. I can handled it." Beast Boy stepped back and did some mock muscle flexing, "I'm a big super-teen now. I change into my own animals and everything." he became a dog, then a cat. Jumping onto the table in the middle of the room, he became himself again, "I'm even house trained!"

Robin tossed the idea around in his head for a moment. Would it really hurt anything? Crime had been slow lately, and Beast Boy _was _an accomplished crime fighter in his own right. He'd taken down plenty of bad guys by himself, and he had a rather powerful Man-Beast form to fall back on if things got bad. Besides, he and Starfire would both have their com units with them...

"Alright, your balls stay in place this time, Gar."

"Yes!" Beast Boy did a little dance on the table, then jumped down, "You go tell Star, I'll pick out an outfit. You do have normal clothes right?"

Robin rolled his eyes, "That closet." he indicated the walk in that was across the room from the closet he kept his uniforms in. Beast Boy ran over and threw the door wide, "Don't be too long! I have to start patrol in like, a half hour!"

Robin just shook his head and walked out of his room with a half smile and a sigh.

* * *

Robin stared at her door, suddenly nervous. He felt like he should have brought her flowers or something. With a mental shrug, he bolstered his courage and knocked.

The door slid open a moment later, and Star stared at him with a pleasantly surprised look on her face, "Robin! I did not expect to see you before you left!" her face suddenly became slightly less happy, "We have not seen each other very much at all since you started patrolling around the school."

"Yeah..." It never stopped astounding him how she could always look so effortlessly beautiful, "Well, I'm here to fix that little over sight on my part. Beast Boy volunteered to take over the city patrol for you and Cyborg, and Cy's already taken my position at the school, so we're both free tonight." he swallowed hard, then pressed on as he smiled nervously at her surprised look, "I was thinking we could go out, you know? Paint the town red."

Star's eyes grew wide, "But... would that not be vandalism?"

There was a beat of silence, then Robin burst out laughing, "Oh, gawd, Kori... You're too damn cute for your own good... No, no... that's just Earth slang. Paint the town red means to go out and party all night."

"Oh!" she slapped her hands over her mouth, "You wish to... take me out on a date?"

"Yeah." he relaxed a little, and smiled at her, "What do you say?"

"Oh, Richard! Yes! Of course! I'd love to go out with you!"

"Great." he smiled even wider, less nervous now that the asking and the accepting was over with, "Why don't you change into something... um... casual? Not your uniform. Just... jeans and whatever. We'll be taking my bike."

"Yes! How long do I have?"

"Take your time." he nodded at her, "I'll change and come back to see how you're doing."

"Very well." she nodded back and smiled, "I am very excited! I will change quickly so we may get underway!"

"Great." he said again, and with a grin and a wave, walked back down the hall to see what Beast Boy has picked out for him to wear.

* * *

"Dude, you have some really nice threads..." Beast Boy was inspecting Robin's vast collection of Armani suits and designer jeans.

"Yeah. Comes with the turf." He sighed and mumbled, "Damn you Alfred. Couldn't you just send me clothes from The Gap or something?"

"Who the hell is Alfred?"

"Just an old gentlemen's gentleman I know."

"What?"

"Just tell me what you've picked out, Gar. And it better not be too formal. Jeans and a nice shirt sounds good."

"You're in luck." Beast Boy tossed a pair of jeans at him (not too loose, but not too tight either. Robin thought they made his butt look good) and a gray button down short sleeved shirt. Robin inspected them for a moment, then nodded, "Thanks."

"Not a problem. The shirt should bring out your eyes."

"How do you know what color my eyes are? And what makes you think I'll be taking off my mask?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "Raven told me, and I really think you should. Kori will appreciate it."

"How the hell did Raven know?"

"She's psychic? I don't know, she just told me they were blue."

Robin sighed, knowing Beast Boy was right, "When did you become so grown up? Like you're thinking about things before you say or do them..." he peeled off his mask and tucked it into the pocket of the jeans, just in case.

"When the threat of ball removal was levied against me." Beast Boy replied with a grin, "You'd be surprised what it does for your clarity of mind."

* * *

Robin knocked on Starfire's door again ten minutes later. He had dressed, washed his face, put on some cologne, and given Beast Boy last minute instructions. With no more excuses left to stall himself with, he had had no choice but to come pick up Star.

"Kori?" he called after there was no answer for a few moments, "Are you ready?"

The door opened with a swish and there she stood, beaming at him. He noticed not for the first time how she was almost two inches taller than he was, but this time, he really didn't care. Anyone looking as beautiful as she did now could be two feet taller than him and he'd still love her instantly.

Starfire was wearing tight blue jeans tucked down over stylish black boots, with a pattern of purple flame embroidered along one leg. Her top was a sleeveless, pale violet shirt, accented by the lack of her usual neck piece. Instead, she wore a simple pendent that sported a green jewel in a silver casing. Her armband remained in place, and she carried with her a simple brown leather purse.

"I am ready to commence the application of red pigments throughout the city, Robin!" she looked at him, staring at her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape, "Is there something the matter with the way I am dressed?" she glanced down at herself in a self-conscious manner, "I tried my best to wear something that was 'casual' and yet trendy..."

"No!" he choked out, "No, Star, you look... wow."

Starfire was pleased with his level of articulation, "I take it that you approve very much then?"

"Uh huh." he nodded dumbly and looked up at her eyes, "You're beautiful, Kori."

She gasped, "Robin! Your mask..." slowly, she reached out and touched his face where his mask usually sat, and ran her fingers along under his eyes. He tensed slightly at the intimacy of the physical contact, but gradually eased back into a relaxed posture. She was staring at his eyes with a mix of wonder and reverence, "Like the summer sky..." she murmured, and he smiled.

"And yours are like emeralds cut from the worlds most pure vein." he took her hands, "Let's go, Kori."

She snapped out of her funk and blushed lightly, "Yes." she nodded and wrapped her fingers in his as they walked towards the elevator.

* * *

Speeding down the land bridge that connected Titans Tower to the main land, Robin spoke into the built-in com device in his helmet, "Anything you really want to do, Kori?"

Star responded through the com in her helmet as well, "Should we not partake of a classic Earth date? What is it that Cyborg said... 'the works'? 'Dinner and a movie, and like so.'"

"Um..." Robin blushed and ducked his head a bit more, feeling her arms around his waist a bit more acutely now, "Maybe we should forget about the 'and like so' part for now."

"What did friend Cyborg mean by that turn of phrase?" she sounded so curious.

"I think he meant it to mean... um... sharing relations." Robin came to the end of the bridge and hit a hard right to head to the East side, where he knew of a good restaurant.

"I do not understand."

"Well... how do I put this? It means... to... well, when a man and a woman love each other, they can... well, I guess it doesn't have to be just a man and a woman. It could be two men, or two woman, or three-"

"Are you referring to sex?" Star asked him, a grin evident in her voice.

Robin swerved so hard he almost wiped out.

"Kori!" he spluttered, "Where did you learn about that?"

Her voice was slightly cold as it came through the com link, "On Tameran. When I was ten years old."

"... Oh."

"There are some practices that are universal to all warm blooded life forms, Robin. Sex is not nearly as taboo a subject on my planet as it is on this one. For instance, what is this ridiculous notion that your children have of a long legged bird bringing babies to new parents?"

Robin had to laugh at that, "Okay, Kori, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed you didn't know."

"Just remember that I am just as old as you are, Robin. I may not know much about your world, but you know just as little about mine."

"That's true. Why don't you tell me about it when we get to the restaurant?"

"I would be very pleased to." she sounded happy.

"And we can go ahead and skip the 'and like so' if you want."

"If I want?" he blushed at the playfulness in her voice. She squeezed him once, "We will see, Boy Wonder."

Robin was suddenly glad for his helmet, as it hid his bright red face.

* * *

With the bike parked and their helmets secured, the two Titans walked the length of the parking lot to the entrance of an up-scale looking restaurant called _Le Fleur. _Starfire looked around with a broad grin on her face, taking in all the new sights with glee.

"This is a wonderful place, Robin! It looks... expensive."

He laughed, "You've always been a fast learner. Yeah, this is going to cost a bit more than pizza and soda." pausing for a moment, he considered something, then stopped her while they were still in the parking lot and relatively private, "Kori... while we're here... well, while I'm not wearing my mask... you shouldn't call me Robin."

"What am I to call you then?" she smiled.

"Um... my real name... it's..." he looked down, frowning.

Star reached out and touched his arm, "I understand if... you do not want to tell me." he didn't miss the disappointment in her voice, or the slight frown on her face.

"No." he said looking up and catching her eyes, "No, you should know. It's Richard." he sighed and smiled a little, "Richard Grayson."

Star smiled back at him and pulled him into a hug, "Your trust will not be betrayed, Richard."

"Thank you." he muttered into her shoulder.

"It is a strong name. Was it... your father's?"

"Heh... no. His was John."

"Oh." her stomach growled loudly, and they pulled apart, laughing.

"Onward then, Koriand'r."

"Indeed, Richard."

* * *

"Sir, I don't think you're quite understanding me-"

Robin rolled his eyes, "Does this place have a black tie policy?" he asked the host who had been arguing with him for the past several minutes about the casual dress he and Starfire were wearing.

"Well, no... but Sir-"

"And is my money no good here?"

"No Sir, but-"

"And is this building leased to the restaurant by Wayne Reality?"

"How did you know that?" the host looked baffled.

"Because I'm Dick Grayson. Bruce Wayne is my benefactor, and close personal friend. I own more stock in Wayne Enterprises than I'd really like to admit, and whenever Bruce retires, I'll own this building as well."

The host stared at him for a moment, his mouth slightly agape, then turned quickly and picked up some menus, "Right this way, Sir."

"Thank you." Robin smiled over at Starfire, who was staring back at him with wide eyes. After they were seated, she leaned near him and whispered, "You are... wealthy?"

"Well, Bruce took me in after my parents died. I have a line of credit he's given me to do whatever I want with, and I've used it fairly well. Technically, I'll take over his job as President and principal shareholder of Wayne Enterprises, so that makes me a fairly influential person."

"I... never would have guessed! You are so humble and... I do not know how to describe it." she seemed in awe of him, "Most of the wealthy people I have known... and you meet many wealthy people when you are the Princess of a whole planet... have been arrogant and mean spirited. You are so... good."

"Well thanks." he smiled at her, "It probably comes from being raised in a circus, then becoming Robin a half a year later."

Her eyes lit up, "What is a circus?"

"Tell you what; after dinner, I'll show you." he smiled wider.

"Oh, I can not wait! Such a whimsical sounding name... it must be a magical place!"

"Oh, it's pretty unbelievable sometimes..." he picked up his menu, "Now let's see if I can remember any of my French..."

* * *

Robin and Starfire were laughing and talking when his communicator started bleeping at 20:00 hours exactly. They both paused in their laughter as he pulled it out and flipped it open.

"Raven, report." he said.

There was a pause, _"You're not wearing your mask."_ Raven sounded surprised. From somewhere nearby, Robin and Starfire heard a crash, and then a brief struggle. Jinx's voice came through.

"_Lemme see! What color are his eyes? You know don't you? Oh, you've been holding out on me, Rea! Don't make me... gra!" _

The two diners exchanged glances before Robin looked down to see Raven's face on the screen again, _"Sorry about that. She's been acting weird all day." _

"Well, tell her to stop it. You two are supposed to be normal, remember?"

_"I know. We're blending in just fine." _Raven's eyes glowed black momentarily, and they heard Jinx let out a muffled shout.

"What are you doing to her?" Robin asked with an arched eyebrow.

_"I'm holding her down with a pillow." _Raven said it with a straight face, and no emotion showing at all, _"I have a job for you." _

"What's that?"

_"I need you to run a background check on Rose Wilson. She just transferred in today, and something seems... off about her." _

Robin had learned long ago to trust Raven's feelings on such matters, "I'll look into it. Everything else going okay?"

_"Yes. Why aren't you wearing your mask?"_

"I'm... uh... out on a date."

_"With Kori?"_

"Yes, with Kori."

_"Wow. I'm impressed."_ she looked like she was, _"I never would have thought you'd grow the balls to ask her out."_

"Thanks, Raven. Really." Robin rolled his eyes as Starfire giggled.

_"Well, you kids have fun. I have math homework to get done." _she looked grumpy, _"Raven out." _

Robin snapped the com unit shut as the line went dead, and shrugged. Looking back up at Star, he found her grinning, "What?"

"I am glad you grew the balls necessary to ask me out, Richard."

Robin blushed again, and sank down in his seat. Raising one finger in the direction of their waiter, he called out, "Check please!"

* * *

An hour later, Starfire was gazing about in awe once again, "This place... it is like the carnival we attended on the pier, correct?"

"Something like that." Robin waved his arm in a broad gesture, "It has a midway like the pier did, and a few rides, but the main attraction here is the show."

"What show?" Star cocked her head to the side and looked at him quizzically.

"The greatest show on Earth!" he gave a little laugh, "We're really lucky actually. A circus travels all over the country, only stopping in one city for a week or so. We lucked out that this particular circus just happens to be Haly's Circus... the one I grew up in."

Star gasped and grinned even broader, "Truly? So this is the place... but..." he face fell, "You said earlier... that your parents..."

"Died. Yeah." he smiled, "Don't worry about it, Kori. Bruce took me in, Batman trained me to be who I am... I've made my peace with my parents death."

"I am still sorry. This must be... painful for you."

"Not really." he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, "I was born with sawdust under my feet. My first word was 'rube.' This is home, Kori. My roots."

"So... it is like the time I returned to Tamaran. A homecoming."

"Exactly. Now let's head over to the big top, and-"

"Dick?" an old, gravely voice from behind them shouted, "Is that little Dicky Grayson?"

They turned to see who was calling him, Star with a confused look on her face, and Robin with a wide grin, "Hey Pop! How've you been?"

"It _is_ you!" the owner of Haly's Circus, Mr. 'Pop' Haly, waded through a crowd of clowns and jugglers and wrapped a rough one armed hug around Robin's shoulders. The younger man returned it with enthusiasm.

"How've you been, old man?"

"Just fine! Show's doing good again for once! My lord, Dick! I haven't see you since you were knee high to Jespo the Tiny!" he motioned to one of the midget clowns, "How're you doing these days, lad?"

"Well, I've just started collage out here... met a nice girl, decided to come see home... perfect fist date since I know I can get killer seats!"

"Seats?" Pop elbowed him a little, "Sure you don't want to get back up on the trapeze?"

"Yeah, pretty sure, Pop. This is Kori." he reached out and grabber her hand, pulling her over, "Kori, this is Pop Haly. He's basically my grandfather."

"I am very pleased to meet you sir!" Starfire smiled at him and shook his hand.

"Well, well, Dick... you've snagged yourself quite the looker!"

Star blinked, but Dick came to her rescue, "She certainly is gorgeous isn't she? I wonder what she's doing with me sometimes."

Star caught on and smiled once again, "Oh, I believe it is your sense of humor. Definitely not your roguish good looks..."

He grinned at her, and she smiled back. Pop glanced back and forth between them for a moment, then smiled himself, "Well, if it's seats you want, then it's seats you get! Ring side! Best in the house!"

"Thanks Pop!" Robin slapped him on the shoulder, "Now come on! It's been forever since you bought me a corn dog and a funnel cake!"

* * *

Starfire gasped again as the lion tamer barely avoided a claw swipe. It was all Robin could do to keep her from flying out of her seat and beating back the jungle cat.

"It's a show, Kori!" he hissed in her ear, not wanting to ruin the moment for the children sitting just behind them, "It's all rehearsed and planned out exactly. The trainer isn't in any danger!"

"Oh..." she settled back, "I am sorry... it just looks... so dangerous."

"It is dangerous." he admitted, "Mistakes can be made, and accidents can happen. It's just as dangerous as any other high risk profession."

"Like jumping from a building without looking first?" she flashed him a grin.

"Kinda." He smiled back, then nodded to the center ring as Pop came back out and bellowed at the crowd.

"Tonight, ladies and gentleman, a special treat for all of you! Performing on the trapeze here and only here, the amazing Double Dare!" he motioned upwards with a sweeping gesture, and a spotlight suddenly swept up to show that two woman clad in skin tight yellow spandex were waving at the crowd from the platform on the upper part of the main tent pole. "These two lovely ladies work without a net, defying death at every swing!"

Starfire's eyes grew wide, and her face split into a huge grin. She turned to Robin to express her excitement, but was surprised to find that he wasn't there. Looking about frantically, she saw him ducking out of the tent flap by the exit.

"Excuse me." she said to the man sitting next to her and he moved his legs to let her past as Double Dare started their act.

* * *

"Richard?" Star asked as she walked up behind where he was leaning against a ticket booth outside the main tent, "Richard, are you well?" as she walked up behind him, his back shuddered, and she realized he was crying. With a gasp of concern, she wrapped her arms around him, "What is the matter, Richard?"

"My folks... Mom and Dad and I... we were the flying Graysons. We were an acrobat team, like those girls back in there." his voice hitched, and he stayed facing away from her, "They died doing their act... sabotaged by a ruthless crime lord in Gotham to punish the circus for not paying him money."

"But... they were murdered?"

"Yeah... Batman helped me catch the people responsible a long time ago, but seeing that... it just brought back a lot of painful memories. I'm sorry I made you miss it." He swiped at his eyes, then turned to face her, hugging her back, "I didn't mean to ruin the night, Kori."

She took in the sight of his red rimmed eyes, and his sad, watery smile, and her heart melted for him, "Richard... if I ever want to see the worlds best acrobat at work, all I have to do is watch you in action. Besides, I do not know how I feel about you oggoling young woman clad in nothing except those revealing body suits..." she sniffed once as he laughed, and smiled at him.

* * *

Half an hour later found them walking along the beach in the moonlight, their hands clasped together. Their shoes had been left back at Robin's bike, and their bare feet left foot prints in the moist sand.

Star sighed as she moved closer to him and put her head on his shoulder, "This is very romantic, Richard." her tone was light, and teasing.

"Shouldn't it be? I mean, you are a Princess and everything... you deserve the best."

"I have not been a Princess for some time. Or at least, I have not acted like one."

"You'll always be a Princess to me, Kori."

"That is very sweet of you. You will always be a hero to me, whether you are Richard Grayson, or Robin the Boy Wonder."

"Hmm." he nodded, "A hero."

"You do not think so?"

"Well, no, it's not that. You're a hero too, you know. It's just... I don't do what we do to be heroic and brave. I do it to help people, to keep them safe."

"Which is what makes you so noble and wonderful. It is what makes you a Knight."

"A Dark Knight." he chuckled, "That's what they call Batman back home."

"You are a different kind of Knight."

"Maybe. I learned everything I know from him... I can't be Robin forever, Kori. Someday, I'll have to give up the red and green."

"Batman is a human, like yourself, correct? So when he grows too old to be The Batman..."

"I don't know. I might take over for him... if I do, I'll have to move back to Gotham, give up the Titans..."

"But why?" Star sounded confused.

"It's part of the image. No one can know if the mantle of the Bat changes hands. He's a legend. An icon. People are more afraid of the _threat_ of Batman than of having an actual encounter with him."

"I see. So that is why you have cultivated an image of intimidation and anger for the villans of Jump City."

"Exactly. Fear is a strong weapon when used right."

There was a lull in their conversation for several minutes, then she spoke again, "I do not think you are scary at all."

He laughed, "I would never want you to, Kori. I would never want you to."

* * *

"We had fun tonight, huh?" Robin asked her as he placed his helmet back on it's shelf next to where he parked his bike in the Tower's garage.

"We did. Dinner, and the circus, and the walk on the beach, and the ride home was so fast!" she giggled, "You should not drive through so many traffic signals!"

"Then they shouldn't make bikes that go as fast as mine does."

"They don't." she pointed out, "You modified it yourself."

"Well, they shouldn't make the parts I need to modify the bike then!" they both laughed as they stepped into the elevator that would take them to the residential level.

"Richard..." Starfire looked over at him as they stood next to each other, "Do you remember what we spoke of as we left the Tower tonight?"

"The 'and like so?'" he grinned, "I don't expect anything, Kori, don't worry."

She sighed in a frustrated sort of way, "You are far to noble for your own good, Richard." and with that she pinned him to the side of the elevator and kissed him firmly on the mouth. After a moment, he melted into her and they began to make out in earnest.

* * *

Three minutes later they were stumbling to a halt outside of Starfire's room, still kissing. Robin's shirt was halfway unbuttoned, and Star's shirt was pushed up, giving his hands access to the skin of her sides and back. She fumbled for the panel next to her door, and smacked it to make the door open. They tumbled inside and continued to kiss as they fell to the floor.

"Kori..." Robin gasped out, then kissed her again, working his way down her throat and to her neckline, "We... should stop..."

"I know..." she moaned, pulling up his shirt, "We are 'moving too fast' as Raven would say... we should... get to know one another better..."

"I feel like I've known you my whole life..."

"I as well feel that way..."

Robin finally sat up off of her, and forced himself with a supreme effort to scoot away a little ways, "We shouldn't." he said, still slightly breathless.

Star moaned in frustration and pounded the floor in a somewhat childish manner, "Why not?" she asked, sitting up, "Richard, we are... well..." she blushed, "I am..."

He looked at her seriously, then smiled in a warm sort of way, "I think I might love you too, Koriand'r."

Her eyes met his and she threw herself into his arms, "Oh, Richard! Then why do you not wish to... make love to me?"

"Because... we should take things slow. I know it's hard, but it's just our hormones telling us to go further. We need to master those feelings and try to establish a more serious relationship based on mutual trust and consideration before we take that next step."

"But we already trust one another, and I consider your feelings in all that I do!"

"Yeah, me too, Kori, but..." he ran a hand through his hair, "You're making it really hard to say no to this..."

"Then do not say no..." her hands rubbed his back, "Come share my bed Richard... please?"

"I... Kori..." he relaxed into her and brought her lips to his. After a moment he pulled away, "Let's go to bed."

She grinned and allowed him to scoop her up and carry her over to her bed.

* * *

Robin stepped into his room at half past three in the morning, having been kicked out of Starfire's room so that she could sleep in the next day without him waking her up at six so he could go train. He paused when he saw a shapely rear end leaned over his desk, wearing a short gray skirt, and black socks and shoes. The figure straightened up, and he saw a black haired Raven turn to regard him with an arched eyebrow. She held his TI-89 in her right hand.

"What-" he started but she held up a hand to silence him.

"You," she said in an even voice, "are an incorrigible bastard."

His face spilt into a grin and he whistled a merry tune as he walked over to his closet, "You're just jealous that you're not the one getting laid. Or is this about your boyfriend named Rob?"

"Don't make me turn you inside out Dick."

"You need to lighten up Rae."

"Don't even make me remind you of the consequences of me 'lightening up.'" she rolled her eyes, "I come back here because I need a graphing calculator for my math homework, and what do I find? You and Starfire broadcasting orgasmic, mid-coital emotions all over the Tower!" she scowled at him as he removed his shirt and tossed it into a hamper with his other dirty clothes, "When I return from this mission, you two had better have learned how to keep your disgusting thoughts quieter!"

"Sorry, Raven. You should know better than anyone that it's hard to control emotion sometimes." he shrugged, "You'll just have to learn to deal with it."

"It's not very considerate of your roommates to just be broadcasting that kind of shit, Dick."

"We knew that this would be a possibility when we formed the team, Rae. This many teenagers in one place? It was bound to happen." he shook his head, "We decided then that you wouldn't interfere."

"That was before I grew so attached to the lot of you! How was I supposed to know that I'd start caring for your well being?"  
"I guess I don't see how you couldn't see that you would."

She opened her mouth to retort, but stopped before she could. Snapping her mouth shut, she glared at him, knowing he was right.

He shook his head again, "Go back to the school, Raven, and get some sleep! Staying up all night doing homework isn't good for you."

"Because you never stay up all night working..." her soul self gathered around her in a black swirl of energy, "This conversation isn't over. We'll talk more when I get back." and with that, she was gone.

Robin sighed and sat down on his bed, "Guess you can't please everyone all the time..." he grinned like an idiot, "But I'll gladly keep pissing you off on this one Rae."

Closing Note: Just thought you might like to know what went on durring Robin and Starfire's date. Kinda nifty, no?


	5. Makes Us Stronger

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan-Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: Action, sex, and drama. What else could you want in a chapter?

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

_**Chapter Four: ... makes us stronger.**_

Jinx gasped for breath as she slowed to a stop next to Ami, both of them coming out of a run.

"Holy... shit..." Ami gasped out. She shook her head, bouncing her new, just past shoulder length hair cut. Her bangs had been trimmed away entierly, and her hair hung straight now, rather than the wavy curls it had been before.

Jinx clutched her side and suffered in silence. It was gym class on Tuesday, and both of them were still feeling the effects of their brawls from Friday night. Running with bruised ribs wasn't fun, and as Raven came up behind them with Janice and Becka in tow, they both grinned sheepishly.

"Lesson learned, I think." Raven didn't smile when she said it, but her eyes danced with glee.

"Shut it, Cassie." Jinx straightened up and glanced over at the newest addition to their gym class, "Good hustle there, Rose. You run very often?"

"Yes." she nodded with a light smile, her fair features making her face seem to glow, "I was on my old school's tennis team, so I stayed in fairly good shape."

"Cool. Another decent player for softball then." Ami grinned at her, "If you can swing a racquet, you can swing a bat."

"I'll certainly do my best." Rose nodded at them, then walked off to talk to Ms. Lovit, Raven's eyes following her as she moved gracefully away. Hanna finally caught up to them, and slowed to a walk as she reached their small huddle.

"That new girl's fast." she remarked as she stopped next to Janice.

"Yeah." Becka nodded, "Are you two going to be alright?" she looked at Jinx and Ami in a concerned manner.

"We'll live, I'm sure." Jinx winked at her, "Water anyone?"

"You getting it?" Ami asked.

"Yeah. Cassie and I can handle it. Come on Cass."

"Hmm?" Raven turned to her blond haired friend, "What?"

"We're getting water for everyone."

"We are?"

"Yep."

Raven shook her head, "Yeah... sorry."

* * *

Jinx handed several water bottles to Raven, pulling them from the bucket of ice at the edge of the track that ran around the football field at the back of the school grounds, "So what's up?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been staring at Rose all morning. I thought you didn't play for both teams."

Raven rolled her eyes, "There's something about her. She's... odd. I can't get a solid fix on her emotions."

Jinx paused as she picked up a few more bottles, "You think she's blocking you?"

"Not intentionally. It could just be a natural resistance to telepathy for all we know. It's a minor metehuman ability, but it's fairly common as ability's go."

"Still... worth looking into, you think?"

"I'm having Robin run the background check. In the meantime, let's just keep close to Becka."

"Right." Jinx nodded, and they walked back to their friends.

* * *

Raven sat in her painting class staring off into space. Her brushes lay next to her, untouched, and her canvas was completely blank.

"Having trouble, Miss Roth?"

Raven jumped and looked to her left, her eyes wide. Mrs. Cain stood there with a sever look on her face. A quick read of her emotions told Raven that she was mostly amused by her young charge being so distracted though, so she relaxed.

"Sorry. I'm just... finding it difficult to get a good subject to do my portrait of."

"Have you tried?" Cain softened her look and sat on the stool next to Raven.

"I don't think I want to do any of the friends I've made in the few days I've been here... Janice might make a good subject, but she's doing me, so I really don't want to take up her painting time having to modal for me..."

"Have you tried looking in the cracks and crevices?"

"Excuse me?" Raven blinked.

"Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely places... the cracks and crevices."

With a parting look of wisdom, Mrs. Cain stood up and walked over to a young man who was having trouble blending his colors.

"She's weird sometimes." Maggie Delmont said from Raven's right. The dark girl looked over at her.

"Why do you say that?"

"She just says weird stuff." Maggie shrugged, "Can you think of any cracks and crevices you have yet to explore?"

"Yeah, I have an idea or two." Raven nodded, a thought coming to her, "How's the nude of Brian Berklin coming?"

Maggie snorted out a laugh, "Not so good." she turned her canvas and Raven saw what was shaping up to be a thin young man lounging back against a tree, writing in a notebook, "It's Gregory Vaugn. You know, the nerdy guy who's always writing in the notebook?"

Raven nodded. She had, in fact, noticed him early in her stay at the school. He seemed to be always writing, and she had often wondered what it was he was jotting down.

"We've been friends for a few years... we don't talk much, but I'm always drawing, and he's always writing, so it doesn't matter much."

"You like him." Raven nodded, getting a clear signal from Maggie.

Her eyes widened, and her cheeks grew red, "No! It's not like that! It's just... we're just... friends..." she trailed off as Raven gave her a look.

"It's in the painting." she said quietly, reaching out and tracing the contours of his lean form in the air above the wet paint, "A lot of love went into this piece."

"I... well..."

"Isn't there a Spring dance coming up soon?"

Maggie blushed even more, and looked away, "The Valentine's Day dance, yeah."

With a start, Raven realized she had forgotten that February 14th had any kind of significance. The Titans didn't celebrate Valentine's Day.

She frowned as she clarified for herself that _she_ didn't celebrate Valentine's Day. She locked herself in her room and prayed for the day to end as quickly as possible. She just couldn't stand all the pink.

"Is there something wrong?" Maggie looked concerned all of a sudden, "You've got a good scowl going there."

"I just don't like mushy holidays. I'll probably skip the dance."

"Oh, you should go. I do every year, even though I don't dance and I never have a date. It's just fun to watch, and they have _tons _of chocolate."

"Hmm... chocolate, you say?" Raven gave her a small smile, "Maybe I'll reconsider..."

* * *

Raven was lounging on her bed, reading her History textbook later that evening when the door to her room opened and Jinx came bounding in, her skirt torn in a few places and the rest of her uniform completely filthy.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Oh, some of the guys were down in the field playing football, and I decided to join in." Jinx shrugged as she tossed her mud stained jacket on her bed, "Even hurt like I am I can still keep ahead of those slow pokes."

"Then how'd you get so dirty?" Raven arched an eyebrow.

"Well I had to take a _few_ tumbles. I let them tackle me a few times."

"Why?" setting aside her textbook, Raven sat up and watched Jinx yank off her skirt and inspect the rips in it before tossing it aside as well. She started on her blouse as she continued.

"To let them get a glimpse at my underwear! Duh!" she motioned to the tiny white panties she was wearing. They rode up dangerously high on her thighs, "I might be a tease, but at least I'm a _thoughtful_ tease."

"So... you were just letting a bunch of strange guys feel you up and stare at your half naked ass solely for their benefit?"

"Actually, I'm fishing for a good date to the Valentine's Day dance." Jinx finally got out of her blouse and tossed it aside as well, "Fucking hell do I need a shower..."

"Jen... the mission..."

"Yeah? You think Becka's not going to go to the dance?" Raven opened her mouth to retort, then shut it again. Jinx smirked, "It's okay. One of us should be the wall flower so that we can keep an eye on her the whole time."

"Yeah. Whatever." Raven turned away, and glared at her text book. Why did she feel so... frustrated all of a sudden?

As Jinx pulled on a robe and grabbed her shower supplies, Raven looked back at her. Now was as good a time as any, "Hey, Jinx?" she said quietly.

"Yeah?" the blonde turned back to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Would you, um... mind posing for my art project?"

Jinx grinned, "Couldn't find anyone else to do it?"

"No, it's just... I want to paint _you_."

Jinx paused for a moment, her smile fading away, then slowly nodded, "Okay... you want to do it tonight?"

"Sure." Raven nodded, "In here is fine. I'll think of a pose while you shower."

"Okay." Jinx nodded, then grinned again, "I _can_ keep my top on right?"

"Oh, for the love of...! You saw that?"

"I snuck out and sat with Cy while you were up there. You've got a nice rack, sis!" Jinx ducked the shoe Raven hurled at her, and giggled as she ran down the hall to the shower.

* * *

Becka walked through the common area of the second floor, and paused by the full length mirror on one of the walls to check her makeup. She made sure there was nothing between her teeth, then started for the door.

"Going somewhere?" she looked back over her shoulder to see Ami sitting on one of the couches, doing math homework.

"Just out to see Chad."

"Doxon?"

"Yep."

"I saw you talking to him at lunch today. It's study time you know."

"Uh huh."

"You'll get detention if you're caught."

"Yup."

"Your dad'll flip if you get detention for being caught out of the dorm with a boy."

"Daddy can screw himself."

"Just making sure you're aware of all the consequences. Keep to the back fields... no one goes there this time of night."

"I know, Amelia, thank you." Becka smiled, "I've got to go."

"Have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I'll try to keep my panties on, thanks."

"Don't knock it 'till you've tried it, Sister."

"Bye!"

"Bye."

* * *

Several hours later Jinx sat on her bed, leaned back against the wall. She wore a loose white tank top that showed the slight curve of her breasts on the sides, and a little bit of cleavage at the top. Her gray flannel shorts were long enough to drop halfway to her knees, and she had her otherwise bare legs and feet folded in front of herself. Her head was tilted to the side, looking up and away from the black haired girl who was painting her from the other side of the room.

Once she had seen how Jinx had positioned herself on the bed, Raven had told her to freeze, and had immediately started painting. She hadn't even sketched the basic form out first, and had instead began with short, light brush strokes to capture her roommate's peaceful expression and exotic features.

"How's it going?" Jinx asked, breaking the silence.

"We're supposed to add a little something extra to make it into a truly unique painting. I'm almost done with it now."

"Hmmm." Jinx nodded.

There was silence in the room for several minutes more before Raven spoke again, this time in a quiet, measured voice, "You know, Jinx... you've been doing very well on this mission."

"Yeah?"

"Yes... you've grown, I think. As a person. I'm starting to see a thoughtful, caring person in you. Nothing like the Jinx I fought so many times."

"Well... we all have to grow up sometime."

"It's not just that though... you're a good friend, a confidant, and... well... a decent step sister. I would call you a friend, Jinx. A close one."

Jinx was silent for a moment, then she sighed, "I'm not that good a person, Raven."

"What makes you say that?"

"I still... well... I don't know. The HIVE is in my blood, Rae. I just don't know if I'll be able to go Titan after this is all over."

"We don't expect you to join the team. You're free to go once we've rooted out the assassin."

"And how would I live? Stealing and blowing stuff up is all I know."

"You know how to care. You've learned compassion, and trust. I might be tempted to say that you've learned to love..."

Jinx just sighed and dropped her head. Raven added the last bit of paint to her canvas and sat back. "It's done." she backed away from the painting and inspected it, "It's still wet, but if you want to see it..."

"Sure." Jinx stood up with a weak smile and walked around the easel to see what Raven had created. When she saw it, her eyes grew wide, her throat tightened up, and her hand flew to her mouth.

The painting was incredibly realistic. There was her face and body, leaned in a relaxed pose... the same face and body she saw in the mirror every day. The wall behind her had the same texture the wall next to her bed had, and the sheets she was sitting on even had all the folds and wrinkles right.

What made the painting truly special though, was the soft golden glow Raven had added, that matched Jinx's blonde hair perfectly. Her peaceful expression was highlighted ten-fold by the softly glowing halo Raven had painted above her head, and the downy feathers that she had added around Jinx's legs on the sheets. It was angelic, and it made her look like to be at peace with everything in the world.

"I guess... I was inspired." Raven said in a small voice.

Jinx's eyes began to tear up, and she let out a choked sob. Raven looked over at her with worried eyes, but Jinx just brushed her tears away and rushed across the room. She grabbed a hooded sweatshirt and pulled it on. Zipping it up halfway, she bent down and yanked on a pair of cross trainers.

"Jinx, I-"

"Just... don't. I have to get out of here. See ya." and she walked out the door, letting it fall shut behind her.

Raven sighed and looked back at the painting, "You _are_ a good person Jinx... you just have to find out for yourself."

* * *

Jinx fled to the back of the grounds as quickly as she could. The Academy took up several acres of land in the middle of Jump City, and it housed it's own small park in the rear of the school. Trees lined the outer wall, providing ample cover for someone who wanted to stay in the shadows and not be noticed.

As she walked slowly through the shadows, Jinx picked out several other figures around her. The new girl, Rose, was leaned against the back wall of the sport equipment building on the other side of the small field from her, writing in a composition notebook. She was easily recognizable by her silvery hair, which glowed in the moonlight. There was also two young lovers holding hands and walking through the field, gazing up at what few stars could be seen inside the city.

Jinx let her eyes follow the strolling couple, who she couldn't quite make out. Her thoughts were elsewhere though. Raven had told her that she considered her a friend, and that she thought that Jinx, the girl who had tried to kill her on multiple occasions, was a decent person inside.

Compassion. Trust. Things Raven had told her that she had learned.

Love.

Had she learned to love? Sure, she cared about her new friends, and Raven _was_ fairly important to her, in a step-sisterly kind of way, but _love?_

"Maybe..." Jinx sighed as she spoke out loud, "Oh, who am I kidding? I'm just a fucking dumb blonde mercenary..."

There was a click from behind her, and her ears perked up right away. It had sounded like a safety-

Suddenly, Rose was running across the field. She sprinted at an incredible rate, and hurled herself at the two young lovers with a shout, "Get _down!_"

The sharp report of a sniper rifle sounded behind Jinx, and she felt a bullet beat air next to her temple. The shot blew a chunk of dirt out of the field where the two people Rose had just tackled had been moments before, and the girl let out a startled cry.

"Becka..." Jinx recognized the voice instantly and whirled around. Her cat-like eyes narrowed, and her vertical pupils allowed her to see in the dark like a cat.

There, crouching on the wall and cursing softly while he broke down his rifle was a man dressed all in black. Jinx sprinted at him and tossed a lance of pink energy at the wall under his feet. The power inhibitor/tracking chip implanted in her arm lessened the effect of the hex, but it was enough to make the brick crumble under his feet as bad luck took over. He regained his balance just in time for Jinx to hurl herself from the ground in a burst of pink energy, and tackle him backwards off the wall.

They hit the sidewalk that went all the way around the Acadamy campus on the other side of the wall with a dull thud, her on top of his chest. The light impact of steel rimmed black boots in front of her gave her enough warning to lunge to the side and let Robin do his job.

As the assassin rolled to his feet, he pulled out a .45 and pointed it at Jinx. Robin's bo-staff slapped the gun from his hand, and his boot found the man's jaw. The black clad killer toppled backwards, and Robin finished the attack with a strong downward punch that sent the assassin into oblivion.

He glanced over at Jinx, who was breathing heavily and staring at him, "Go. Run around the other side of the wall and get back to your room. I'm glad you were out here, Jinx, but you can't be seen here."

She panted a few more times, then nodded, "Right." and she fled into the night.

* * *

Raven was waiting for her when she returned to the room, "Robin called. He said Rose... helped."

"She kept Becka from getting killed if that's what he meant. I never even knew the guy was there, and yet, she knew exactly where that bullet was going to hit. She just tackled them though... like she knew that there was going to be an attack, just not where it was going to come from."

Raven nodded, "That explains her mental defenses then. Limited precognition. She can catch glimpses of the future."

"Wild." Jinx panted, "No one saw me come up, and I was pretty quite. We should be okay."

"Good job out there. Were you following Becka on purpose, or..." Raven's eyes darted to the painting, and Jinx looked at it too.

"No. I was just moping. Look, Rae... the painting is beautiful. I... really... thanks. For having such faith in me."

"You're welcome. Becka's coming back now though, so let's get ready to greet her."

"Okay." Jinx didn't bother asking how Raven knew Becka was coming back, but tossed off her sweatshirt and kicked off her shoes instead. Not more then fifteen seconds later, the door to the floor slammed open and voices in the hallway grew loud enough to draw attention.

They walked out to 'see what the commotion was about' and saw Becka hurling herself into Hanna's arms. She was sobbing and hysterical, and Hanna looked quite confused, but comforted her friend none the less. The other girls were there too, as well as Rose, Ms. Veerlin, and Mrs. Cain. Two police officers stood in the common area as well, and one stood guard at the door to the stairwell. The male officers looked distinctly uncomfortable being around so many young woman who were wearing their night clothes.

"What happened?" Raven asked as she came up next to Rose.

"There was an assassin." Rose replied in her quiet manner, "I... saw him, and kept him from killing Becka, but she's still pretty shaken up."

Raven leaned in closer to her and whispered, "You didn't _really_ see him, did you?"

She glanced sharply at the black haired girl, "How did you... oh." she whispered back, "You're an empath?" Raven nodded, and Rose continued, "I could feel someone trying to read me, but didn't know who. I guess a lie still comes through as a lie."

"We'll talk later." Raven said, and Rose nodded. Jinx looked back and forth between them for a second, then stepped around them.

"Ice princesses unite..." she mumbled and walked over to where Hanna had been joined in her comforting by Ami and Janice. They all huddled around Becka and hugged her, whispering soothing things at her.

"Was the assassin caught?" Raven asked Mrs. Cain.

"Fortunately, one of the Teen Titans was nearby, and was able to apprehend him before he fled too far. He's in custody now."

"Why would someone try to do this?" Raven asked again.

Veerlin answered this time, "She's the Senator's daughter... they were probably trying to use her death as a threat of more violence if he didn't do something they wanted."

"Will she be sent away?" Raven frowned, and tried her best to act worried.

"No." Cain shook her head, "But we will be beefing up our security, and making sure that Miss Pullman doesn't take any more late night strolls with Mr. Doxon."

"Is Chad okay?" Jinx asked from where she was patting Becka's hand.

"He's fine." Veerlin assured them, "I know it's a little much to ask, but why don't you girls try to get back to bed and get some sleep. The police will be guarding the door and the building for the rest of the night."

"Okay... I'll get them all along shortly." Raven nodded to Veerlin and Cain, "Rose... we'll talk again later?"

"Sure. Goodnight, everyone." Rose nodded and followed the police officers and the adults out through the door to the stairs.

Becka looked up at Raven through the arms of their friends, "Cassie... can we just... all stay out here tonight? I... I need you guys right now..."

Raven's eyes softened, "Sure. Janice, Hanna, can you two help me get some blankets and pillows? We'll let the cripples take care of Becka for the moment."

"Sure." Hanna jumped up and ran for her and Becka's room.

"Yeah." Janice stood up and walked for her and Ami's room.

"Cripple my butt. I could still kick your ass." Jinx stuck her tongue out at Raven.

Raven rolled her eyes and walked back to their room for some bedding.

* * *

At 1:00 AM, the second floor girls were still awake. They were lounging around the common area, which was filled with pillows and blankets, engaging in various activates and chatting.

"We haven't had a slumber party in a while..." Hanna said as she tossed another Cheeze-It at Jinx, who was laying upside down on one of the couches with her head hanging off the pillows. She caught the snack in her mouth and crunched it.

"You've done this before then?" Raven squinted at her toes as she applied a violet nail polish to them.

"All the time our sophmore year." Becka smiled at her friends, "Thanks for staying up with me, guys. I just... it was really scary."

"Thank God Rose saw the gunman..." Ami replied and grinned at Becka, "So! How's Chad?"

"He was pretty shaken up by the whole thing, but he seemed to be okay. He told me we could talk about it whenever I felt like... no pressure or anything."

"No pressure on any other fronts?" Janice giggled as Becka threw her a look, "What? You can't sneak out and then not tell us what happened."

"We only held hands and stuff..." Becka blushed, then looked over at Jinx, who was staring at her with wide pink eyes, "What?"

"And stuff?"

"Yeah... stuff."

"Like... stuff that involves tenderly spoken poetry, or stuff that involves you wearing a strap-on?" Jinx grinned.

The other girls all gasped (except Raven, who rolled her eyes) and burst into giggles. Becka took a few minutes to get control of herself, then, blushing to her roots, cleared her throat, "No, we uh... well, he kissed me once..."

"Was it sweet?" Hanna asked, leaning forward.

Becka stared at them for a moment, then sighed, "Yeah..."

"Ohmigod! Are you like, falling for Chad Doxon?" Ami leaned forward as well. Janice stopped drawing in her sketchbook, Raven paused in her toe painting, and Jinx sat upright. They all looked at Becka, and she looked back at them.

"Well... Chad and I have known each other for years now... we started here at the same time, and that's been four years already. And we've always been friends, and he's really sweet, and he's a nice guy, and he knows me so well, and... yeah. Yeah I'm falling in love." she melted into a puddle of sighing and giggling goo and fell into Hanna's arms, "I'm in love!" she kicked her feet a few times and the girls all giggled. (Except Raven, who rolled her eyes.)

"Wow! That's great, Becka!" Jinx grinned over at Raven, who was shaking her head and painting her last few toes again. "What about you Sis? You ever been in love?"

"Nope." Raven shook her head, "You know better Jenny."

"I guess so. Hey, did you ever sleep with Rob?"

"Nope." Raven shook her head again, still not looking at Jinx, "Just Roy."

"Roy?"

"Harper."

"Who?"

"The _fast_ one that liked to bow hunt."

Jinx did a double take, "Wait... Roy S. Harper?"

"Yeah." Raven nodded, applying the last bit of polish to her pinky toe. She looked up at a gaping Jinx, "Just a quick tumble a year ago when we were doing the exchange program between West Gotham and East Gotham."

"Wait... you had sex with Roy Harper?"

"Yes." Raven nodded.

All the other girls watched the exchange with great interest. Finally Ami spoke up, "Any one else? Raise your hands..." she grinned slyly as her own hand snuck up into the air. She was joined by Raven and Jinx a moment later, then, ever so slowly, Janice raised her hand as well.

"Oh, this is going to be good. Hanna giggled and scooted over next to Becka, "Virgins over here! You guys gonna spill?"

"I'll go!" Ami smiled and moved to sit in the middle of the group of friends.

"We've all heard this one..." Becka rolled her eyes.

"Speak for yourself, Miss 'I'm-so-in-love-because-I-got-a-smooch.'" Jinx stuck out her tongue, "Cassie and I have yet to hear this story."

"So I met this guy when I was staying at my Dad's vacation home last summer..." Ami grinned like an idiot, "He was hot. I mean, like, really hot. We got to know each other a little bit, and we hung out for a few weeks. The week before I was supposed to head back to my Mom's place, we were out jet-skiing and we got a little side tracked by each other's mouths..." she giggled, "We just started making out, just like that! Like it was some mutual thought and we just went at it. We had sex that night on a pontoon boat out on the lake, and then like, four times a day for the rest of the week. We were like gerbils." she giggle again, then sighed, "Jordan. Wudda man..."

Jinx snorted, "Wish my first time had been like that."

"Let's hear it then." Raven sat back, "Believe it or not, girls, Jenny and I have never talked about this kind of stuff."

"Really? You sure you're sisters?" Hanna asked, "I'd tell my sister in a heart beat. She's really cool."

"Let's let Jinx tell her story." Janice said with a smile.

"And then you can tell yours." Ami glanced at her and frowned.

"Right..." Janice shrank back.

"Anyway, my first time was kind of... well it sucked. It was with this guy named Jim... we called him Private Jimmy 'cause he was so into the military. He's a solider now. I was fifteen, he was sixteen, and he was used to girls that liked it rough. It wasn't slow and passionate or anything... just hard, painful, and over in two minutes."

"That sucks." Ami frowned, "Did you kick him in the nuts later?"

"No, but Cassie broke his nose last year when he got fresh with her. I considered that ample payback. No one fucks with my sister."

"You throw a mean right hook too?" Hanna looked over at Raven.

"I used a dictionary." Raven droned at her.

"Heh. Bookworm." Jinx shrugged, "I've a had a few good lays since then. The best one was like, three and a half hours, and the guy knew what he was doing..."

"Sweet." Ami bobbed her head, "Karma comes full circle."

"You gonna give us more details about this Roy kid, Cassie?" Becka grinned at her.

Raven rolled her eyes, "Fine. We were hanging out in the workout room of... his parents house, and we just kind of... well... we looked at each other, and decided it was time to throw down. One thing led to another and we were sparing in the middle of the mats."

"So you _do_ know how to fight." Ami looked interested.

"Not like Jenny, but yeah, I practice a few forms of martial arts. Anyway, he's way better than I am, so he took me down, and ended up on top of me. I was feeling kinda... well, I don't know. I wasn't really turned on, and I'm not really attracted to him, but... it just seemed like a good idea at the time. No emotional attachment, you know? We just had sex, and never spoke about it again."

"Wow." Jinx blinked, "And here I thought you'd be a virgin the rest of your life."

"Just because I don't date much doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good fuck." Raven shrugged and turned to Janice. She sensed great trepidation, and knew what was coming before the dark haired southerner even opened her mouth.

"Well... I guess this might come as a bit of a shock to some of you, but... I haven't had sex with any guys..."

"Then why'd you raise your hand?" Hanna looked confused.

There was silence in the room for a few seconds, while everyone stared at Hanna then back at Janice. Janice spoke slowly, as if Hanna was a child, "Because I've only been with other girls."

A beat of silence followed her proclamation, then Becka blinked and said, "So... you're a lesbian?"

"Um... yeah. I started experimenting with other girls when I was fourteen. I lost my virginity to a cute brunet two years ago when we were messing around in her room. Didn't hurt at all, and she was slow and very sweet about it... you know, using a smaller dildo to start with."

More silence, then Jinx spoke up, "So, have you and Ami ever-"

"No!" Janice glanced over at Ami, who smirked, "We, uh... well, I told her about it a long time ago, but she's not gay. She's just... my best friend." she smiled at the red head, who smiled back.

"It's weird giving her hugs, but you get used to it." Ami looked around at the other girls. Raven shrugged, since she already knew, and Jinx grinned. Hanna looked like she was still trying to wrap her brain around the news, and Becka was looking at Janice in a suspicious manner. She spoke up,

"So... do you like, check us out in the shower and stuff?"

Janice fidgeted for a second, then sighed and slumped down, "I'd be lying if I said I haven't done so in the past four years at least a few times, but it's not like I stare or anything... except at Ami, but she doesn't care."

"It's not a big deal, guys." Ami grew serious, "I mean, if she wants to see the hottest chick on the floor, all she has to do is look in a mirror. Have you seen this girl naked? She's like... ba BOOM!"

"Stop it..." Janice blushed.

"Well it's true!" Ami leaned over and punched her shoulder lightly, "You've got the best body, and, let's face it everyone, she's got the prettiest face here."

"I dunno..." Hanna finally giggled, "Cassie's pretty cute..."

"And she'd got bigger boobs..." Jinx put in, then as an after thought, "If you like that sort of thing..."

"Man..." Becka shook her head and finally smiled, "And you went out with Brian Trent for like, two months when I hooked the two of you up... were you just being nice?"

Janice shook her head, "I was going through a faze... I was still exploring my sexuality then. I went out with him to see if I could get into guys." she shook her head, "Girls are way better kissers."

"Well, we do know how to do it right. Guys are all tongues and spit flying." Jinx made a face, "I don't think I've ever made out with a guy who didn't try to drool all over me."

They all burst into laughter, and the light tension that had settled over them broke.

"I told you none of them would have a problem with it." Raven said to Janice.

"You did." she smiled at the black haired teen, "Thanks, Cassie."

"Don't mention it. Now," she looked around at everyone, "Let's get some sleep. We still have class tomorrow."

* * *

"Jenny."

"Hmmph?" Jinx rolled over and looked up at Raven in the darkened room, "What is it?" she whispered

"Follow me." Raven stepped over her and walked down the hallway. Jinx took a few seconds to get up, then plodded down after her to their room. They walked in and Raven shut the door quietly.

"Why did you wake me up again at 5:00 AM?" Jinx asked with blurry eyes.

"So we can talk to Robin."

"Doesn't he sleep?"

"Not really." Raven opened her jewelry box and pulled out her communicator. Flipping it open, she hailed the Titan leader.

"What is it Raven?" came the reply, "I'm off duty in a few hours, and I have a ton of paper work to do, so please don't bug me about Rose Wilson's background check."

"Actually, I was wondering if you had any more info for us on the attack last night." she was back to using her usual monotone.

Jinx walked over and looked at the video link over Raven's shoulder, "Yeah..." she yawned, "We getting pulled out now that you've caught the bastard?"

"No." Robin shook his head, "Senator Pullman refused to yield on the legislation the assassins were trying to push through, so they put up an open hit on the market. Ten million large to whoever caps Rebecca Pullman."

"No way..." Jinx breathed.

"I'm afraid so. Expect more attempts, and be on your guard." Robin looked at them hard, "No more letting her wander off alone. I want one of you with her, or following her everywhere she goes at all times. I don't even want her to walk into a bathroom alone."

"Got it." Raven nodded, then sighed, "What are we doing about this situation, Robin?"

"We're trying to track down the people who put out the hit. Cy's working on it, but it'll take him a few days at the very least. His prediction was closer to three weeks."

"Just in time for the Valentine's Day dance!" Jinx brightened up, "Sweet!"

"Don't let it get in the way of the mission, Jinx."

"Hey, Robin... I bet Raven could use a friend to bring as a date."

He glared, "Be. On. Your. Guard. Robin out."

The screen went black and Raven snapped the unit shut. She put it back in the box then turned back to see Jinx grinning at her, "So... Speedy, huh?"

"It was just a one time thing, and no I didn't feel any emotion about it. It was just for physical pleasure. Like taking a long, hot bubble bath... only stickier."

"Uh huh."

"Did you really have sex with Private HIVE?"

"Yep. And it was just like I described it. I actually kicked his ass to hell and back the next day for being so rough with me."

"Yeah." Raven nodded her head, "That's my girl."

"Though it was pretty funny when you broke his nose."

"With a dictionary." Raven's mouth twitched into a smile, "More like a marble column from the library..."

"We're getting pretty good at this whole secret code thing..." Jinx grinned, then yawned again, "Hey, we have time for a little more shut-eye?"

"Go ahead." Raven waved her off, "I'm going to meditate."

"Sure. See you in a few hours."

After Jinx had left their room, Raven sighed and walked over to her bed. Sitting down, she closed her eyes and focused. Careful not to start floating, she droned out, "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos."

Her last thought before her mind went blank was that protecting Becka was going to be a whole lot harder now.


	6. Attempts

Reeducating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: So, I know this is like, the third update I've done for this story since I last updated GCC, but I have a good excuse.

I do!

GCC has a lot of converging story lines. It's hard to organize all of them so that they all fit together in the proper time frame. I've worked up something of an outline, and I'm moving forward on it, but until I get to a point where they all come together, it's going to be slow going. Sorry, but those of you that read the Music of Jump City series will just have to wait a little longer. This one is getting interesting now anyhow.

One other point of interest. I've never labeled myself as a shipper. I welcome all pairings in all fanfics with open arms. Lately though... I've broken down. My new favorite pairing is Raven/Speedy. It's happened twice now in my stories. Bla. Can't believe I finally gave in... I feel so weak. :)

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

_**Chapter Five: Attempts**_

* * *

**__**

Jinx pulled on her blazer and looked over at Raven as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, "How are we gonna' do this?"

"We can stay with her throughout classes without a problem, but it's going to get trickery when she tries to go do things on her own. One of us will have to stalk her if she sneaks off with Doxon again."

"And how do we go about getting rid of any assassins that show up?"

"Hopefully none of them will make it past Beast Boy and Robin, but if any do, we'll have to do our best to take care of them with no one knowing any better."

"Right." Jinx frowned, "I think I can do that."

"Good." Raven walked to the door, then paused and turned back, "And Jinx?"

"Yeah?"

"No killing." she gave her blonde haired friend a meaningful look, then walked off.

Jinx stood in the same spot she was in for a long time, then sighed. Looking over at the still drying painting of herself, she smiled a weak smile, "Yeah... not a problem..."

* * *

_Wednesday: 08:34 - Just after homeroom_

As the students filled the hallway, Raven glance up, sensing a focused, vicious presence. Her eyes fell on a young male who could have passed for a student to anyone else. She placed herself between him and Becka, and started talking to her.

"So, you have Chemistry next, right?"

"Yeah..." Becka sighed.

"You seem distracted."

"I almost got killed last night, Cassie. What do you expect?"

"Don't worry about it. They have the security beefed up, right? Besides, you're inside one of the central most buildings on campus... what could go wrong?"

At that point, the young man was right behind Raven, and she could feel his anticipation growing stronger as he approached Becka. With an inward grin, the black haired Titan jumped forward with a startled gasp. The young man froze as she whirled around to face him, "You bastard!"

"Huh?" she saw him quickly hide the pocket knife he was holding in his pocket.

"You touched my ass! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I didn't-"

"What kind of a sick pervert comps a cheep feel in the middle of the hallway?" he started to speak again, but she cut him off, "You know what? It's too early for me to deal with this! Just apologize and be on your way."

He was starting to grow angry, "I didn't touch your ass-"

"Liar! Who else could have done it? Do you see anyone else in grabbing distance?"

"I-" She could feel his agitation growing, so she cut him off again.

"I was facing Becka, and I can tell you that I sure as hell didn't grab my own ass!"

He finally snapped, "Look bitch, I didn't grab your ass!"

It was almost criminally easy how quickly she had provoked him. The insult was what she had been looking for, and he had delivered just as she though he would. With a snarl of rage, she swiftly kicked him in the balls. He fell down with a huff and a tiny squeak.

"Fuckin... let's go, Becka."

"R-right." she and the rest of the students who had gathered to watch all started to file away. Soon, only the young man was left gasping in the hall way, trying to pull himself to his feet. A blonde skipped past.

"Hey! You look like you've been kicked in the balls!" she commented cheerfully, and threw a punch into his face as she skipped past him. Catching him as he fell backwards and out of consciousness, she quickly and quietly shouldered his body and dashed to the window at the end of the hall. There, she opened said window and dumped the young man's limp form out.

Down below, a green gorilla caught him, and ran off with him.

Jinx stood up and dusted off her hands. Looking at the clock on the wall, she gasped, "Shit! I'm late for Chemistry!"

* * *

_Wednesday: 09:20 - The tail end of Chemistry_

Jinx yawned hugely as she listened to the instructor drone on about isotopic particles. _Listen_ was of course a loosely used term, because she was actually paying more attention to the large windows that ran the length of the outside wall of the lab they were in. She'd had a bad feeling about them since she'd stepped into the class.

Squinting out the windows past the lawn and out to the back wall, she scanned for any signs of trouble. After the night before, she doubted anyone would use the rear wall as a vantage for a shooting angle any time soon, and especially not in the middle of a sunny morning, but-

Her eyes darted up as a flash caught her attention. Some dunce was sitting on top of the building across the street from the wall, and had forgotten to mask his sight. Amateur mistake. Frowning, she looked for a way to defuse this situation.

"Miss Wrangler? Is there something interesting outside that you wish to share with the rest of the class?"

"Um..." she turned back to the instructor (one Mr. Brogs, who she considered to be the biggest nerd she'd ever met) "Electrical banana?"

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you know. It's bound to be the very next faze."

"Miss Wrangler, this is a Chemistry class, not a Golden Oldies discussion group."

"Is there such a thing as a Golden Oldies discussion group?" She picked up her thick book. She was running out of time.

"Maybe. Who knows? Now would you please pay attention?" Brogs looked cross as he turned back to his white board, "Now, who can tell me what this particular..." Jinx tuned him out and glance back over her shoulder in time to see the flashing sight settle. She tossed her book behind Becka's head.

There was a 'tink!' as the bullet popped through the glass, then a solid 'thump!' as it hit the book and stopped, then a loud 'bang!' as the book hit the floor.

Brogs whirled around from the board and glared at her, "MISS Wrangler!"

"Sorry! I dropped it! I'll just pick it up..." she scrambled to pick up her book as he shook his head and turned back to the board. She grabbed it and stood up in time to hold the book over her own chest, taking the second round hard enough to knock her back into Becka. She grinned sheepishly at her friend as she was given an annoyed glare, "Sorry..." she whispered, "Tripped..."

Where the hell was Beast Boy? He should have taken that mook down by now! She glanced outside once again and saw the sight settle again. With a low sigh, she flicked a hand at Becka's lab stool and watched with a frown as one of the legs gave way with a slight crackle of pink energy. The stool toppled over to the side and Jinx reached out with a surprised look on her face and wrapped an arm around her falling friends shoulders, protecting both of them with the heavy book that was still in her right hand.

The third bullet hit the book and they both fell over. Glancing up out the widow amid Brogs's cries of, "MISS WRANGLER!" Jinx was surprised but happy to see Starfire descend from the sky in a hail of starbolts, blasting the gunman away from his weapon. As she untangled herself from Becka, she grinned at the girl, "Not my day, huh?"

"Guess not..." Becka looked back at her stool, "How the heck did that happen?"

"No clue." Jinx lied, then helped her friend get to her feet as the bell rang.

* * *

_Wednesday: 12:15 - The middle of lunch_

Jinx stepped into the girls bathroom off the dining hall and looked about. Becka always came to this bathroom just before lunch ended to fix her makeup (even though they had gym class right after) every day. If an assassin was waiting for her, Raven wanted them found and taken care of before Becka even showed up.

Checking quickly in each stall, Jinx came to the last one and found it closed. Silently, she squatted down and checked under the door. Seeing no feet, she tried the latch. It was locked.

Frowning, she prayed it wasn't a student as she lifted one foot and kicked the door in. Staring back at her from inside the stall, was an athletically built woman dressed in a strange red outfit with a white mask. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a thick plait down her back, and she stood on the toilet holding two long, sharp knives.

"Hey... you look familiar..." Jinx squinted at her and tapped her foot, "Did you teach any classes at the HIVE?"

The woman blinked and replied with a British accent, "I did an informational seminar on advanced personal information retrieval techniques a few years ago..."

"Lady Vic!" Jinx snapped her fingers and pointed with a grin, "I'd remember that accent anywhere! The chick who talks like Jane Seymour and fights like Bruce Lee!"

Lady Vic chuckled, "Yes, yes. I've been told that before."

"So how have you been? Assassination business still booming?"

"Yes, there are always people who want other people dead, and are willing to pay handsomely for it." She smiled, "Though, you should know, if you're here. Is this a HIVE assignment, or are you freelancing?"

"Eh, I'm here on my own. Ten million... who needs the HIVE if I can make that kind of dough."

"Yes, well, I'm afraid we've come to an impasse then."

"Hey! Five million's not bad either if you want to split it!" Jinx held up her hands, "I mean, working together and all..." she trailed off at Lady Vic's smile, "You're so not buying this idea."

"I'm afraid I'll have to kill you as well now... what did you say your name was?"

"Jenny." Jinx replied, "And I might as well come clean and tell you that I'm working for the Titans to make sure Becka doesn't get killed."

"Wha-" Jinx's statement had served it's purposes and distracted Vic long enough for her to get the first punch in. The high society assassin reeled back against the wall from the force of the strong jab, and lost her footing on the toilet seat. She fell down so she was sitting on it, her legs spread out before her and a dazed look on her face.

She wasn't dazed enough not to block Jinx's follow up attack though, and the long knife in her left hand almost skewered the former terrorists right arm.

"Yowch!" Jinx jumped back out of the stall and inspected the tear in her blazer's sleeve, "I've only got two of these, you cow!" she snarled, then ducked and dodged as the blades came at her in a whiling dance of death. Ducking to the other side of the bathroom, Jinx threw a lance of pink energy at one of the sinks Lady Vic was standing next to, and the facet blew off, spraying the assassin with water.

"Witch!" Vic screeched and hurled one of the daggers at Jinx. She ducked it and it embedded it's self in the door behind her. Looking back at it, Jinx whistled out a low note.

"Nice throw." she grinned as she yanked it out of the door and turned back to a now soaking wet Lady Vic in time to slap aside the dagger thrust with her own weapon, "Are these Damascus Blades? They look really sharp..."

"You know your knives, young lady," Vic grunted as she swung at Jinx's head again. Her target ducked and stabbed at her midsection, but Vic twisted out of the way, "But can you handle them as well as I can?"

"Probably not..." Jinx brought her dagger up in time to catch Lady Vic's downward swipe and hold it, "But I don't have to be good with them if neither of us have them!" and with a mighty wrench and a burst of pink energy between them, the daggers went flying into opposite walls and they stumbled apart.

"Now we're more even." Jinx grinned a feral grin and charged in with a low kick. Lady Vic blocked it, but wasn't nearly as fast as Jinx herself was. She caught a sharp uppercut, then Jinx followed through with an open handed strike at her neck.

Vic lifted her right arm and let her gauntlet take the blow.

Jinx stumbled back, waving her hand around, "Ow! Ouchie, ouchie, owwww!" she blew on her bruised hand, "That really smarts!"

"Not as much as this will!" and Vic dropped a double fisted blow across Jinx's head.

Jinx hit the ground and rolled. She was seeing stars and was barely able to keep ahead of a madly laughing Lady Vic's stomping foot. She finally rolled into a stall and pushed up with her hands, regaining her senses as Vic charged in with a punch.

The punch hit the tile behind the toilet, and Jinx grinned as she lashed out with a kick that slammed Lady Vic into the side of the stall. Here, she had the upper hand. She had trained for combat in tight spaces such as a bathroom stall, and she was willing to bet Vic hadn't.

"So, how's it feel to get your ass kicked by a kid, Vicky?" Jinx continued to slam the poor assassin around, punching and kicking with great effect as Lady Vic attempted a weak defense, "Sorry I'm being so rough with you, but you're here to kill one of my friends, and I don't take kindly to that." with a final punch, Lady Vic fell to her knees. Jinx pushed her head down into the toilet and flushed it, making sure the assassin's hair got good and wet.

Whistling a merry tune, Jinx stepped out of the stall and inspected the bathroom. One facet spraying water, a gash in the door, and two long daggers sticking out of the walls. She retrieved the daggers as she inspected the tear in her sleeve, and the wetness of her skirt and blazer from having fallen on the floor, where the water from the broken facet was beginning to puddle.

"Not too bad I guess." She stepped to the door, opened it and glanced around outside. Not seeing anyone in the hall way, she stepped out.

There was a door at the end of the hallway that was labeled as a maintenance room, and she opened it quietly. Stashing the daggers behind a row of cleaning chemicals, she nodded and searched quickly for a sign. Finding one that read 'Out of Order' she grabbed it and placed it on the bathroom door. Nodding at a job well done, she walked back to the lunch room, and managed to sneak past the few remaining people there to make it outside.

She dashed around the side of the building, and jumped up on a dumpster. Quickly pulling herself up to the roof, she ran to the middle and searched the sky around the school grounds. Seeing a green flash, she waved at it.

A few seconds later, Starfire was landing next to her, "Hello, Jinx. It has been almost a week since we last spoke!"

"Sure has. How've you been?"

"Oh, _very_ well, thank you!"

"Did you enjoy your date with Robin?"

"Yes! We had a wonderful time, and we even... well..." she grinned sheepishly and blushed lightly, "That is a private matter I suppose."

Jinx's eyes widened, and then she chuckled, "Wait until I tell Raven this one!"

Star blinked at her, then shook her head, "What is it you require?"

"There's an assassin in the girls bathroom of this building. Think you could retrieve her after lunch is over?"

"Of course. Did you fight her? Were you damaged?"

"Yeah, we had a little dust up, but I'm fine. Nothing a change of clothes and a bit of sewing wont fix."

"Oh, I'm glad." Star smiled warmly at her.

"Why? I'm the expendable troop on this mission, Star."

"Call me Kori." Starfire said as she stepped forward, "And do not undervalue yourself so, Jinx. You are a doing very well, and Robin thinks quite highly of you. Raven has been more... personable lately, and we all feel that you are having a positive effect on her." Star pulled Jinx close and hugged her, "You are a friend now, Jennifer Wrangler... you may as well get used to the idea."

Jinx hugged Star back briefly, then pulled away, "Thanks, Kori. A lot." she smiled, then looked back towards the girls dorms, "I need to get changed. Lunch is just about over now, so you can go down in a few minutes."

"Very well." Star nodded with a grin, "Say hello to Raven for me."

"I will. And thanks again." and Jinx ran off with a grin plastered on her face.

* * *

_Wednesday: 13:00 - The beginning of gym class_

Raven stood next to Rose, a little ways away from the rest of the girls in their class, and stretched with her in preparation for their run.

"So you have limited precognitive abilities," Raven stated, "Is there anything else?"

"I am a natural athlete, and possess slightly higher than usual strength and speed. In the years of my education I've studied with several martial arts masters, and I can finish the _New York Times _crossword in about two hours."

"That last one's not really a meta ability, but okay." Raven grinned.

"Have you ever tried to do the _Times_ crossword? I guess at half the words and still get them right."

"Freaky." Raven leaned down and stretched her right calf.

"What about you? You're an empath, right?"

Raven nodded, "I've been developing trace amounts of telepathy as well."

"What about your sister? Is she a meta?"

"Jenny? If you count her eyes, yeah. She can see in the dark like a cat."

"That's cool." Rose smiled, "I've never met any others before."

"Well, we're not as impressive as you, but we have our abilities."

Rose nodded, suddenly in a daze. Raven stepped closer to her and touched her arm, "Rose?"

"Hmm? Oh!" she looked at Raven, "I just... there's... ninjas in the bushes over there..." she turned her gaze to the bushes across the track from them, near the back wall of the school grounds.

"Waiting for Becka?" Raven tensed.

"Yes."

"Should we take care of them ourselves, or call security over?"

"I don't know... maybe we should avoid the deadly assassins..."

"Jenny and I can handle it." Raven decided, "Just keep close to Becka, and if any of them get past the two of us, make sure they don't get to her."

"A-alright. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Raven nodded, "Don't worry about us... we've done this before."

Rose watched Raven trot over to Jinx, wondering at her cryptic parting comment.

* * *

"Hey, Jenny!" Raven walked up to where Jinx was talking to Janice and Hanna, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" she looked cross.

"Uh... sure." she waved to her two friends and walked off with Raven, "What's up?"

"Act like I'm bitching at you." Raven whispered, and Jinx instantly took on an affronted look, "Good. There's ninjas hiding in the bushes across the track. When we get over there, still arguing..."

"Shut the fuck up, Cassie!" Jinx said in a loud voice, "Like I would..." she glanced around, seeing several people staring at them. She turned back to Raven with a cross look, and whispered in a harsh tone, "How's that?"

"Good. When we get over there, act like I've just pissed you off an tackle me. Get my shoe off and toss it behind the bushes."

"Okay." Jinx flashed a brief smile, "Bitch."

"Slut."

"Whore."

"I've only slept with one guy, thank you, and he didn't pay a thing."

"Cheep whore."

"Tiny tit."

"Bongo boobs."

"You're too good at this." Raven grumbled as they began to run.

* * *

Beast Boy watched Raven and Jinx as they seemed to argue about something and run around the track. He was sitting in a tree near the rear wall in the form of a squirrel, and he frowned his little squirrelly mouth as he saw their argument grow more heated.

As they reached the bushes on the side of the track he was closest too, Jinx tackled Raven. They struggled for a moment, then Jinx got hold of one of Raven's shoes and tossed it into the bushes. She jumped up with a laugh, and dashed off, leaving a cursing Raven behind her.

As Raven quickly got up and marched into the bushes, Beast Boy jumped down from his branch and ran over to her. He wanted to make sure she was alright, and that Jinx wasn't getting out of line.

What he didn't expect was to find her crouching down, hiding from view, with four black clad ninjas wrapped in black energies floating in front of her. Their mouths were covered and she was pulling her shoe back on as they struggled to get loose.

Becoming himself again, he stared at her, "How'd you know-"

"Rose has a limited form of precognition. She 'saw' them, and told me about it."

"Oh. What are we going to do with them?"

"Beat them into unconsciousness and let you drag them away."

"Oh. Okay." and he hauled back a fist.

Raven leaned over the nearest ninja to her, "Have you ever been knocked out before? It's not as benign as it looks. You twitch the wrong way and we're talking permanent brain or spinal damage." His eyes went wide as she too hauled back a fist, "I suggest you go limp."

* * *

_Wednesday: 17:30 - The Girls Dorms_

"We can't keep this up, Robin..." Raven rubbed the bridge of her nose as she spoke to her team leader in the communicator, "Stopping assassins in a manner that wont blow our cover is getting harder by the _hour._" she opened her eyes and glared at him, "We wont last another two weeks while Cyborg tracks down the money man."

She was sitting on her bed, sprawled out and looking exhausted. Jinx sat on her own bed, staring at Raven as she balanced a pencil on one finger.

_"I expect the attempts to drop after the next few days. The ten million reward just went up yesterday, so most of the attempts today were just the third string jokers who think Pullman is an easy score."_ he shook his head, "_We're stepping up our own patrols, and calling in extra help, so hopefully, you wont have to deal with too much more of this."_

"What extra help?" Raven narrowed her eyes.

_"Titans East is sending over Aqualad and Speedy." _Robin replied without flinching.

Raven's eyes darted over to Jinx, who sat up and dropped her pencil. She grinned and winked. Raven turned back to her communicator, "Maybe you should keep Speedy away from the school."

_"Why?" _Robin arched an eyebrow, _"He's just as fast as I am, and almost as stealthy. He's a highly trained crime fighter, Raven."_

"Well... um..." she threw caution to the wind, "You remember when we did the Titan Exchange Program?"

_"Yeah, you went over there, and we got Aqualad for a week." _his eyes narrowed, _"Did you develop some kind of bad blood with Speedy?"_

"Not exactly... we um... had a brief... thing."

_"A thing?" _Robin's other eyebrow joined his first, _"Like, a _romantic _thing?"_

"There wasn't really any romance, no..." she winced as his face fell to something between a grimace and a laugh.

_"And you were ragging on me about sleeping with Starfire!" _

"You already know about that?" Jinx threw her hands up, "I was going to surprise you!"

Robin's face grew red, _"How did _she_ know about it?"_

"Kori told me." Jinx shrugged.

Robin looked embarrassed, _"Does she have to tell everyone?"_

"Girls talk, Robin." Raven grinned at him, "So yeah... if Speedy and I could avoid contact at all, that'd be great."

_"Sorry, Raven, but no." _She gaped at him as he shook his head, _"I wont jeopardize this mission because of a past relationship. If you two need to hash something out, we can arrange a time for you to talk, but until then, just act professionally." _

"But-"

_"Pullman's not being protected right now." _Robin glared, _"You need to get back to work."_ Raven glared at him and opened her mouth to say something else, but her cut her off, _"Robin out."_ and the line went dead.

"Damnit!" she threw the communicator across the room, and Jinx stuck out a hand and caught it, "Who the hell does he think he is?"

"The team leader?" Jinx said as she placed the communicator back in Raven's jewelry box, "He does give the orders around here."

"The Titans were _my_ idea... this team wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for me!"

"If you're having issues with the leadership of the Titans Raven, you'll have to take it up with Robin _after_ this mission. Becka's more important."

Raven stared at her for a moment, then her eyes softened and she smiled gently, "You really care about her don't you?"

Jinx blinked, then looked away, "I guess. She's become a friend, alright? I look out for my friends."

"Yeah, me too." Raven walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Let's get the girls and go to dinner."

* * *

_Wendsday: 18:00 - Dinner _

"So... has he asked you yet?" Ami grinned and took a bite of her spaghetti as she grilled Becka.

"Who? Asked me what?" the burnet fluttered her eyes in an innocent manner.

Raven and Janice exchanged a glance, and Jinx and Hanna continued to shovel food into their mouths. Ami rolled her eyes and leaned forward, speaking so only the six of them could hear, "Chad! Has he asked you to the dance yet?"

Becka looked around, then grinned, "Just a few hours ago. I said yes like, before he was done asking."

There was a good round of giggling (Raven just rolled her eyes) and then they all calmed down. Hanna looked around, "I'm dateless still. Anyone else been asked?"

Janice giggled, "George Flaskie asked me yesterday, and Nick Lenny asked me today. I turned them both down."

"That'd have been a good call even if you weren't gay." Ami snorted with a little laugh, then sighed, "I'm dateless as well. I'm hoping for an invite sometime next week when the bruises start to fade." she motioned to her face with a frown.

"What about you two?" Hanna turned to Jinx and Raven, "Exotic looking new girls that you are, you must have had like, a billion invites already..."

Raven shook her head, "I'm too standoffish apparently. Boys are scared of me."

Jinx poked her, "We'll see about that."

"I suppose you've had at least five boys want to take you?" Raven sighed as she chomped down on some garlic bread.

Jinx shook her head, "Seven actually. Guess I had more of an effect on those boys I was playing football with than I thought."

"They're just after a hot piece of ass, Jenny. Don't go for 'em." Becka rolled her eyes, "Though, the way you lead them on, I'm not surprised."

"I've given them all a firm 'maybe.'" Jinx replied with a grin, "I figure shopping around is the best policy here."

"So what are we going to do about Cassie?" Ami asked the group in general, "We need to get her a hot boy."

"Cassie isn't going with anyone." Raven replied, "If she goes at all."

"Oh, come on Cass!" Hanna smiled at her, "You know you want to find a cute guy to go with!"

"No, I don't."

Janice spoke up, "Even I go with a date usually. Just as friends, but still."

"I'll go with you then this year. I can be a lesbian for one night."

"Don't tease." Janice shook a finger at her, "You keep that up, and I'll be locking us in your room and doing all kinds of naughty things to you."

"Keep teasing, Cassie." Jinx put in with a grin, "A digital camcorder and twenty minutes of footage later, and I could be raking in the cash from the hornballs on this campus."

"You are not selling sex footage of Janice and I to the campus at large, Jenny." Raven glared.

"Whoa! Did I walk in on the wrong part of that conversation!" They all turned to look at Maggie Delmont as she sat down next to Raven, "Something you two want to tell me?"

"Hey Maggie." Hanna waved, "How's things?"

"Not bad." she arched an eyebrow at Raven, "Well?"

Janice saved her with a bold move, "I'm gay, Cassie's not. I'm just trying to convince her to be my date to the dance."

Maggie blinked, "You're gay? Really?"

"Uh huh." Janice nodded and ate some more noodles.

"Look at you!" Ami punched her shoulder lightly, "Little Miss Confidence! Feels better to get it out in the open, huh?"

"If it'll keep all these boys from asking me out..."

"Why are the hot ones always gay?" Maggie asked with a grin, "That's cool, girl. Way to be yourself."

"Thanks." Janice smiled at her, "So, you need a date?"  
"No, I'll be going wall flower again this year." Maggie smiled and winked, "Thanks anyway though."

Jinx pushed her empty tray away from herself, "Alright, Cassie. Let's pick you out a boy."

"Jesus, Jenny, we are not doing this-"

"This was the only way to get you to our Junior Prom, and this is going to be the only way to get you to this dance too. I'll have my way, Cassandra Roth. You know I will."

"Don't bet on it." Raven snorted and finished her dinner, "If that's all ladies, I'll be heading back to the dorm to do some homework. Becka? Care to join me?"

"I'll come if you talk to... Will Mathews. He's kinda' cute, and I think you'll dig him. He's artsy like you are."

"I'm artsy?" Raven arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Like Jan only less lesbian."

"Love you too, Becka." Janice rolled her eyes.

"I'm not talking to a guy who does nothing except debate his own silly philosophical ideas."

"He's not always doing that! He's really nice!" Maggie poked her in the arm, "Go on, Cassie! Just talk to him!"

"I'll talk to him if you ask Gregory Vaugn to the dance."

Maggie's face suddenly blushed bright red, and she looked down at her toes, "Oh, no... I couldn't ask a boy... if he wants to take me, he can ask me, but-"

"You're hot for Greg?" Hanna smiled, "Oh, that's sweet! You two have been friends for ages!"

"Yeah, but..." Maggie looked at Raven's smug expression, and sat up straighter, "You know what? Fine! I'll go ask him right now! And you're going to go with Becka and talk to William Mathews."

Raven rolled her eyes, "Fine. Becka, let's do this."

As the three girls got up and walked off, Jinx rubbed her hands together, "Oh, this is going to be good..." Hanna, Janice, and Ami all giggled with her and then set about hashing out Jinx's options for a date.

* * *

"Hey! Will!" Becka walked through a small crowd and Raven followed her. Will Mathews was sitting on the base of the statue of the school's founder out in front of the cafeteria. He was talking to one of his friends, who nodded to him and walked off as the two girls approached him.

"What's up Becka? Chad told me about asking you. Said his hands were shaking the whole damn time."

Raven inspected Will as he and Becka chatted away. He was a taller young man, maybe six feet, and he had a lean, athletic build. She'd seen him from the window of her math class, running laps in his gym class, and knew he kept in shape. He had dark brown hair, and his eyes were a pricing blue. Almost like Robin's, but softer somehow. She suspected that was because he hadn't witnessed the same kind of horrors that Robin had lived through most of his life.

"So... this is Cassie. She's still kind of new here. One week tomorrow." Becka motioned to her and Raven stepped up to him.

"Nice to meet you." she said as she held out her hand. He shook it and smiled at her.

"Likewise." when she didn't smile back he let got of her hand and his grin faltered, "So... um... you liking it here?"

"It's better than West Gotham High, that's for sure." Raven forced a smile to her lips, "Where are you from?"

"Right here in Jump, actually." his smile came back and he bobbed his head, "Born and raised. You're from Gotham?"

She mentally bit her lip. Couldn't really tell him she was from Azarath, could she? "Yeah. The folks thought it was a bit too crazy though, and my step sister and I were getting into too much trouble, so they sent us here."

"Oh, yeah. The blonde with the pink eyes. Everyone's talking about how she totally smeared some of the football players the other day."

"Yeah, she's like that." Raven smiled a genuine smile, "She grows on you though."

"Well hey, I gotta run, but maybe we can hang sometime? Becka was just saying how you like to read, and I usually hit the bookstore on the weekends when they let us out..."

"Yeah..." Raven scanned his emotions quickly and found him to be truly interested, "Yeah, I'd like that. This Saturday?"

"Sure! We'll hammer out the details later." he hopped down from the statue, "I'll see you girls around." he waved with a smile, and Raven and Becka waved back.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Becka grabbed Raven's arm and started dragging her back to the dorms, "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"It's not that I can't talk to boys, Becka, I just don't want to. There are more important things."

"Like grades, and school?"  
"Like staying alive... you're not going to go wandering around the city this weekend are you?"

"Cassie, I'm not going to stay locked up here like an animal. We're free to go out on weekends, and I plan on going. I'll be with a group, so don't worry!" she swatted at Raven's arm, "You mother us too much."

Raven sighed. She'd have to talk with Robin about this one.

* * *

_Wendsday: 23:05 - The girls dorms _

Jinx was laying on her back on her bed, trying to make sense of a passage in her English assignment, when there was a tapping at the window. Tossing the book aside, she got up and walked over, opening it and letting a green sparrow hop in. It eyed her for a moment, then became Beast Boy.

"Miss me?" he asked with a grin.

"Not particularly." she shrugged and smiled at him, "What's up?"

He dug around in his pocket, and came up with a folded piece of paper, "This is for Raven."

"You passing notes now, BB?"  
"It's not from me."

"Who?"

"Speedy. He's here now."

Jinx made an 'O' with her mouth and lay the note down on the desk, "I'll make sure she gets it."

"You know what it's about?"

"I have a good idea."

"What is it? I didn't know those two had any kind of correspondence."

"If Raven wants to tell you about it, she will."

"Hmph. You're no fun."

"I'm too tiered for this, BB. Think we can chat another time?"

"Sure. Hey, good job by the way. You stopped a lot of assassins today."

"Tell me about it." Jinx rolled her eyes, "Now beat it before Raven comes back and decides to kill you."

"Yeah, yeah." Beast Boy became a sparrow again and flew out the window. Jinx shut it, then turned to the door. Opening it, she walked down to the common area, "Hey, Cassie? Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure. I'll be right back, Becka." Raven marked her place in her history text, then set it aside and walked down the hall with Jinx. Once back in their room, she shut the door and turned to her blonde friend, "What's up?"

"Beast Boy just delivered a note." she pointed to the desk and the white piece of paper, "It's from Speedy."

"Oh." Raven glared at it like it might explode, then walked over and grabbed it up. Unfolding it, she let her eyes scan the few words on the page. With a shrug, she wadded it up and tossed it in the garbage.

"What'd it say?" Jinx sounded devious.

"He wants to talk to me tonight at a little past midnight. You'll be on your own for a few minutes tonight."

"Okay." Jinx nodded as Raven walked back out of the room to rejoin Becka. The blonde sorceress rubbed her hands together, "Oh man... _this_ is going to be good!"

* * *

_Thursday: 00:15 - The roof of the Westmarch Apartments, across the street from WJCIE_

There was a wooshing sound as Raven teleported right behind Speedy and he jumped a little as she appeared. He whirled around and panted for breath, "Jesus, Rae! Don't scare me like that!"

"You wanted to see me?" While he was dressed in his standard uniform, she was wearing simple jeans and a black tank top. He took in her curves with a light grin, but when his eyes rested on her face, he sobered up.

"Robin said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Robin needs to learn to mind his own business."

"You didn't tell him about us, did you?"

"Nothing specific, but he knows something went on between us last year."

"Great. Just what I need."

"Look, Roy..." she walked over to him and stood close, "It was great, okay? I told you that then, but... I can't..."

"I know. And I understand." he put a hand on her shoulder, "No relationship. Just sex. And just once." he smiled a little, "Though you're probably the best lay I've ever had, so if you want to bend that last rule..."

"Roy..." she gave him a glare and a warning tone.

"Right, right..." he smiled at her, "Though you were getting pretty friendly with that kid that was sitting on the statue earlier."

"You saw that? Christ... Becka's just trying to hook us up for the Valentines Day Dance." she rolled her eyes, "Stupid. I'm not going with anyone."

"If you change your mind on that, Roy Harper just might be in town if you need a date."

"Yeah, that'd be almost as thrilling as bringing Dick Grayson..."

"Dick would freak if you asked him to be your date."

"And Kori would kick my ass. You know they're sleeping together now?"

"No way. Dick actually got over his stupid fear of commitment and went out with her?" Raven nodded and Speedy crowed with laughter, "That's great! Can't wait to rib him about it."

"Rib away. He deserves it after setting us up like this."

"You want me to stay clear of the school, don't you?"  
She sighed, "I guess not. Just... don't expect any repeat action now that you're out here."

"Aw, now that's no fun."

"Roy, really, it's just not a good idea to-" she was cut off as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him. His lips found hers and he kissed her gently. She melted into him, and something inside of her bubbled up.

A nearby smoke stack exploded, and she wrenched herself away from him. Her eyes were wide and filled with shock, and he was confused by the sudden fear she was radiating.

"Rae? What's wrong?" he reached for her again, but she jerked back and brought her own hand up, slapping him across the face. Her features twisted into furry as she glared at him.

"How dare you?" she whispered, "Don't think you can just come out here and make me start _feeling things_ and expect this mission to go off without a hitch!" he took another step closer, opening his mouth to speak, but she cut him off with a hiss, "Don't you come near me! Just... stay away from the school!" and with that, she melted down into the black portal that opened at her feet.

Speedy just stared at the spot she'd been moments before and sighed, "Way to go, Roy."

* * *

Back in the dorm room, Raven appeared and immediately stripped off her clothes. Climbing into bed wearing just her tank top and her underwear, she curled up into a ball and fought down the emotions roiling inside of her.

What were all of these feelings? She knew what love was like, since she cared deeply for all of her friends, but this was... something else. She had _wanted_ that kiss, and feeling his soft lips on hers, it had made her feel like... something she shouldn't feel.

Running a hand across her face, she was surprised to find it coming away wet. She was crying? But why? What the hell was she feeling that was making her cry?

"Cassie?" Jinx mumbled from the bed across the room, "Are you back?" she sounded sleepy, "Hey, Cassie?" the blonde sat up as she heard a sniff, "Are you crying?" she sounded shocked.

"No, Jenny. Go back to sleep."

"You _are_! What did Speedy say to you? Oh, I'll kick his ass, that son of a-"

"Jenny..."

"He's gonna pay for hurting my sister-"

"Jenny..."

"I'll castrate the mother fuc-"

"I'm in love with him, Jenny."

There was ringing silence in the room for a moment, then Jinx spoke again in a strangled voice, "What?"

"I'm in love with him. I'm feeling all these new emotions that... one is romantic love, and the others are... lust... concern... and... sorrow?"

"Raven... Cassie, what are you saying?" Raven couldn't see in the dark as well as Jinx could, but she made out the shape of the other young woman as she crossed the darkened room and sat down on Raven's bed.

"I'm... saddened that I can't really tell him... that it'll just throw my powers out of control if I try to... love."

"Oh... Cassie..." Jinx scooted over and crawled under the covers with her. She wrapped her arms around the other girls head and pulled her down to her chest, "Just go ahead and cry. You know you want to."

"I do... I just don't know why..."

"It's called heartache. You'll get that when you're in love."

"I don't like it." Raven sniffed and cuddle up to her not-step-sister.

"No one does, Cassie... no one does..."

* * *

_Thursday: 06:12 - The girls dorms_

Jinx opened her eyes slowly, letting the dull gray light of dawn wash into her sensitive optics. She sat up and stretched, looking around when she found she wasn't in her own bed.

Raven sat next to her, leaned against the wall, staring out the window. Her violet eyes were puffy from all the crying she had done, and her hair was a mess of black strands.

"Did you sleep at all?" Jinx asked as she sat up the rest of the way.

"A little." Raven didn't turn her gaze away from the window, "Last night... you called me Cassie. And you called me your sister..."

Jinx smiled weakly, "Sorry... I just... it's what I call you most of the time, and it just came natural when I was half awake, so-"

"Thanks, Jenny. I mean it." Raven finally looked at her and smiled a weak smile of her own, "I _so_ don't want to go to class today."

"What _do_ you want to do?" Jinx asked tenderly with an arched an eyebrow.

Raven sighed, "I want to find Speedy, yank off his mask, stare at his beautiful blue eyes for a few hours, then make love to him again. Then I want to tell him how much I love him, and that my powers will never act up like they did last night, and nothing else will explode, and my Father wont have a better chance at entering this dimension, and that we'll live happily ever after."

"Doesn't take much to make you happy, huh?" Jinx grinned.

"It's all wishful thinking, Jen. Let's just... get ready for another long day of kicking assassin ass."

Jinx frowned, but shrugged. If Raven wanted to keep it all bottled up until the mission was over, that was just how they were going to have to play it. "Alright. You shower first though, you look like hell."

The water hit Raven's shoulders as she stood in the stall of the shower she was using. She let the near scalding water ease away the tension she was feeling. With all the new emotions rolling around in her head, she was having trouble containing her soul-self in the shell that was her body. With a growl, she shut the water off and grabbed a towel.

Drying off quickly, she wrapped the towel around her body and stormed out of the bathroom, almost plowing down Hanna. The blonde squeaked and jumped out of her way, "Shit fucking hell, Cassie!" Raven blinked. Apparently Hanna was a potty mouth early in the morning, "Kick the door open harder next time why don't you?"

"Sorry... I just had a trying night."

"What's _that_ mean?" Hanna looked confused.

"Nothing... just... never mind. I'll deal with it."

"Okay... if you need to talk though, I'm here."

"Thanks." Raven nodded to her then hurried off to her room.

* * *

Jinx was waiting, "Took long enough."

"You could have showered too. There's four stalls in there."

"One of us needs to stay ready in case something happens to Becka."

"Guess so." Raven tossed her towel aside and pulled on some loose fitting clothing.

"Are you seriously not going to class?"

"We have a little time yet. I need to meditate."

"What about-"

"Becka will survive for an hour without me looming over her shoulder. Just hurry through your shower." Raven snapped, and the bedside alarm on Jinx's nightstand exploded.

Jinx looked over at the ruined electronic device and blinked. She turned back to Raven, "You go on then."

"Thank you." Raven turned on her heal and marched away.

* * *

_Thursday: 07:25 - The roof of the girls dorms_

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." Raven let out a breath, clearing her mind. Her emotions had to be suppressed. She couldn't ruin their cover by blowing things up all day. Becka still needed to be protected, and she'd be damned if Speedy was going to screw things up by making her feel... like he made her feel.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." She might be an emotionless zombie for the rest of the mission, but at least Becka would be safe. When everything was over with, she could take a few days to analyze the situation and decide on the best course of action.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." Another presence on the rooftop made her pause. Slowly bringing herself out of her trance, she opened her eyes and found herself staring into the concerned green orbs of Beast Boy.

"Garfield." she greeted him.

"Are you okay?" he sounded worried.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" he hopped forward a few inches closer to her, "You seemed really agitated when you came out here, and now you're not smiling anymore. You've gone back to that monotone you had before you started this mission, and I don't see any emotion in your eyes at all, and-"

"I was getting too relaxed. I needed to refocus." she stood up from her meditation position, "I have to get to class."

"Come on, Rae! I'm your friend! You can tell me what's going on, and-"

"I have to get to class, Garfield." she cut him off with a glare, "Be ready to follow Becka in a moment."

As she reached the roof hatch, his voice drifted over to her, "I saw you kiss him last night."

She froze, and closed her eyes. She had just regained her focus. No way was he going to take it away from her again, "_He_ kissed _me_."

"And it's okay for him to kiss you but not me?"

"Don't do this now, Gar..."

"No... no. I deserve an explanation."

"If you saw him kiss me, then you saw me slap him."

"Yeah, but-"

"If you ever kiss me, expect the same treatment." she opened the hatch, "Don't let it get in the way of the mission." and she was gone.

Beast Boy sighed, then muttered, "Yeah... no problem." then mimed ripping his own heart out and punting it.

* * *

_Thursday: 09:45 - The middle of English class_

Raven was jotting notes on the lecture when a folded piece of paper landed in front of her. Noting Jinx's untidy scrawl across the front of it, she quickly and quietly unfolded it and read.

_What's up with you today?_

She growled lightly and wrote a quick reply.

_Nothing. Pay attention to the lecture._

Refolding the note, she turned to her left and tossed the paper over her shoulder, where it landed perfectly on Jinx's desk. She turned back to her notes, but was only able to get one sentence down before the note landed back in front of her. With a sigh, she opened it and read it again.

_You're being all emotionless again. The girls are worried. Stop it._

Raven wrote her reply and returned the note.

_I had to. Roy screwed my mental state up last night, and I need focus._

The reply came a minute later.

_You have to blend in though. Try to find a balance?_

Raven replied quickly.

_No. This is the only way. They'll get used to it._

Jinx's reply was also quick.

_Like the TTs did?_

Raven narrowed her eyes and jotted a reply.

_Exactly._

The note was returned, and then landed in front of her again less then a minute later.

_Then why is Gar glaring at you through the window?_

Raven wiped her head around and looked out the window, where a green sparrow was glaring at her reproachfully. She scowled at it and turned in her seat to look back at Jinx. She received a glare as well, and the note passing stopped for the rest of the period.

* * *

_Thursday: 12:15 - The middle of lunch_

Jinx and Raven were sitting under a tree on one of the many benches throughout the campus. This one was in front of the cafeteria building, in easy view of the founder's statue, where William Mathews sat discussing something with a few of his friends. Jinx glared at Raven and Raven glared back.

"So you just killed all of your emotions, because you couldn't handle feeling all mushy about Roy?" Jinx shook her head, "That's pathetic, Cassie."

"No, that's practical. How would it look if every time I thought about him something blew up?" Raven scowled, "And the way I was going last night, I was thinking about nothing else _but_ him."

"And doesn't that tell you something? Cassie, you're in love... maybe you should try embracing it rather than pushing it away."

"Oh, yeah, great idea! And let my soul-self consume my physical form, opening a portal to the dark dimension of the Eighth Demon himself, and letting him conquer this plane of existence in a matter of days?" Raven shook her head, "Emotion leads to destruction when you're me, Jenny."

"Can't you at least _tell_ him? I mean, why make the poor guy suffer so much?"

"If he knows, he'll do the same thing you're doing now. Try to convince me to let go and just _feel_." Raven shook her head, "Only... I don't know if I could say no to him."

Jinx frowned and scooted closer to Raven. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she reached out with her other hand and moved Raven's chin so their eyes were locked, "We'll find a way, alright? Things _will _work out."

Raven smiled weakly, "Some super-villain you are. All mushy and soft." she poked Jinx in the side, and the pink eyed girl giggled, "You've lost your edge."

"I can still kick your ass in a heart beat, so don't go insulting me too much."

"Uh huh." Raven stood up and looked over to their left, where Becka was practically sitting in Chad Doxon's lap, "Becka's having a good time."

"So are we." Jinx stretched, "There hasn't been a single attempt all day."

"The other Titans are probably stopping them before they get here. As much as I hate him right now for kissing me, Speedy is good. It's like having two Robins around."

Jinx blinked up at her, "He kissed you last night?"

Raven blushed, "Yeah."

"Was it any good?" Jinx's mouth curved up into a smile.

"Not talking about this." Raven rolled her eyes as she started to walk away.

"Come on, Cassie..." Jinx caught her sleeve and gave her a meaningful look.

Raven sighed and smiled lightly, "Made me blow up a smoke stack."

"Damn."

"Yeah. I told you I wanted to boff him again... it's just... this mission." she sighed, "I'll figure it out when this is all over."

Jinx nodded, "Okay. Hey, I promise I'll stick around and be here for you to sound off against while you're trying to figure out if you really love him or-" she paused then smiled over Raven's shoulder, "Hey Ami."

Raven's eyes widened and she looked over her shoulder. Ami grinned back at her in a devilish manner, "Love who, Cassie?"

Raven turned her gaze back to Jinx, who grinned broadly. She mouthed, "I'll get you." then turned back to Ami, "No one. Jenny's being a dumb blonde."

"Speaking of dumb blondes," Ami shrugged, "Where's Hanna?"

"She was fishing for dates last I saw her." Raven pointed off past Will Mathews and crew, and her eyes lingered on the lean young man seated on the base of the statue. With a frown, she looked away.

"Okay. I need to convince her to give me her history notes. I wasn't paying attention at all today." Ami paused as she turned away, then turned back to Raven. Without warning, she threw her arms around the black haired girl and hugged her tightly, "Whatever's wrong, Cassie, we're all here to talk, and we'll all support you through it. Just know that we're here." and she dashed off with a nervous smile.

Raven watched her go, then turned back to Jinx. Holding up a hand to cut off the blonde's grinning remark, she bit out, "Shut up, Jenny."

* * *

_Thursday: 18:34 - The girls dorms_

Raven knocked on the door of one of the first floor singles. A moment later, it cracked open and blue eyes stared out at her, "Yes?" Rose asked.

"I was wondering if we could talk?" Raven replied in a monotone.

"Of course." Rose opened the door a little wider, "Come it, please."

Raven stepped inside the room and looked around. Rose didn't appear to have very much in the way of decoration, and only her school books lay scattered across her desk. The only object of note in the entire room was the broadsword mounted on the wall over the bed.

"Nice sword." Raven arched an eyebrow.

"It's been in the family for years." Rose walked over to her bed and sat down. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Rebecca Pullman." Raven took the desk chair and faced Rose, "She's been targeted by assassins from all over who are out for the ten million dollar bounty on her head."

Rose nodded, "I know."

Tensing up, Raven began to gather her powers, "You know?"

"It's on the internet." Rose stood up and walked over to her desk. Pushing aside some books, she revealed a laptop computer, which she flipped open. Skillfully navigating a few web pages, she came to one that proclaimed in large type that Rebecca Pullman was wanted dead for a large sum of money. Raven read it quickly.

"It doesn't say who is offering the reward..."

"No, but it mentions contacting the League of Assassins for information on the payment process. The League is very careful about not communicating with law enforcement officers. If anyone can contact them, then they can get a lead on where the money is coming from."

"You sound familiar with this process..."

"My father... isn't a good man. He's quite a bad man actually."

"I see. Are you still... in contact with your father?"

"He's not using me to get to Becka if that's what you're asking."

Raven read Rose with careful scrutiny and found her to be telling the truth, "Okay. I'll accept that for now." she leaned forward as Rose sat down again, "So... how would you like to help protect Becka?"

"That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Rose's blue eyes narrowed, "You're... Raven. A Teen Titan."

Raven nodded, "Yes."

"And you think I can help?"

"You're a trained assassin aren't you?"

Rose winced, "No... but I've been trained to fight. And... when I found out about the hit on Becka, I also found out about a man who might be interested in that money. I'm here to make sure he doesn't get her."

"So you're already protecting her." Raven sat back and studied her for a moment.

Rose shook her head, "Don't get me wrong... if any other assassin gets her, that's no skin off my back. I'm just here to stop one man, and one man only."

"Your father?"

"No." she shook her head, "He has nothing to do with any of this."

"Who is this assassin you're here to stop?"

"That's for me to know, only. If he comes, I'll stop him." her eyes grew cold and intense, reminding Raven so much of something she'd seen before, but couldn't quite place, "I have unfinished business with him."

Raven nodded slowly, "I guess. If I call on you for help, though, will you help?"

She nodded, "If I can."

"That's all I can ask then." Raven stood and walked to the door. She paused before leaving, "If you blow my cover, or my sisters, I'll tear out your soul. Do you understand that?"

"Of course." Rose nodded, completely serious.

"Good." and Raven was gone.

* * *

_Thursday: 18:38 - The girls dorms_

Jinx looked up from the upside down Book of Azar as she tried to decipher the writing inside and at the wall next to Raven's bed. There was a scraping noise coming from the room next door.

Setting the book aside, she walked to the window and opened it. Leaning out, she watched in amusement as the 2x12 board the girls used to sneak out was extended from the supply closet over to the wall. Moments later, Hanna was crawling across it, dressed in a tight blue dress that barely dropped to the midpoint of her thighs. It had spaghetti straps, and dipped low, revealing ample amounts of cleavage.

Jinx waited until the perky blonde was to the wall before calling out to her, so as not to make her fall, "Going somewhere, Hanna?"

She let out a high pitched scream, and clutched the wall, gasping for breath, "Don't scare me like that, Jenny!"

"Where are you sneaking out to all alone?" Jinx frowned.

"I'm going out to meet a guy I met last weekend." she waved it off, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Maybe I should go with you... safety in numbers and all that..."

"I'll be okay, Jen. He's a nice guy."

"Okay..." Jinx sounded uncertain, "Just... don't do anything stupid, and lay off the cocktails, okay?"

"Yes, mother..." Hanna rolled her eyes, then winked, "Don't wait up."

"I think I will, actually." Jinx winked back, "Don't be too late. Increased security and all that."

"Yeah, I know." Hanna started to lower herself off the wall, "See ya!"

"Yeah... bye." Jinx waited until Hanna had dropped the plank, and disappeared from sight before she looked up. A green falcon stared back at her from the top of the roof, and she held out an arm for it. Beast Boy swooped down and landed on her offered limb.

"Follow her for me, will ya?" she asked the green bird. It jerked it's head inside, and she stepped back into the room with it. Jumping from her arm, he became himself again.

"Why's Raven so pissy?" he asked, "I saw Speedy kiss her the last night, but she wont tell me anything about what went on between them, and no she's backslid right into the ice queen act again!"

Jinx groaned, "I know! I was making such good progress with her, and now Speedy came and fucked everything up!"

"What's up between them? Has she told you?"

"I slept with him last year." Raven said from the doorway. They both jumped and looked over at her with looks of shock. She shut the door and glared at them, "Anyone could just walk in here, Beast Boy. Get out."

Beast Boy glared back at her with a hurt expression, "So I can't kiss you, but he can fuck your brains out, huh?"

"I'm free to have sex with whomever I wish, Garfield. Now get out before your brains come out in a manner that has nothing to do with fucking."

"You're a real bitch, you know that?" Beast Boy shook his head, and turned back to Jinx, "I'll be following Hanna."

"Thanks." Jinx nodded, and smiled a little, "Get going, before you loose her."

"Sure." he smiled back, then with a frown and a glare at Raven, turned into a falcon and swooped out into the night.

Jinx walked over to her bed and grabbed a history text off of it, "I'm going to see if Becka wants to study."

"Why are _you_ pissed at me?" Raven sighed and sat down on her own bed, rubbing her eyes.

Jinx whirled around and glared at her, "Because you just broke that poor kids heart!" she scowled, "He's right, Rae. You _are_ a bitch."

"I don't need to hear this from everyone right now. My primary intention is completing this mission with one hundred percent efficient. Having Speedy hanging around to mess with my emotions, and Beast Boy hanging around to feel rejected and hurt, and you moping around because I'm actually asking you to _do some bloody work on your assignment_... it all screws everything up." She stood up and met Jinx's stare, "We're here to protect Becka's life, Jinx, not have fun and go to dances. How many more times do I have to tell you that?"

Jinx stepped forward so that she was practically nose to nose with Raven, "And how many time do I have to tell you to lighten up? The girls are noticing, Raven! Janice actually asked me if you were exhibiting signs of suicide earlier! They're not stupid, and they will figure us out if we're not careful!"

"I can't afford to let my emotions run rampant right now, Jinx. I need to maintain control so that-" she was cut off as Jinx slapped her across the face.

Raven stumbled back and brought a hand up to her red cheek. She brushed her fingers across her lips and noted that they came away red. Turning back to the blonde, she stated in a monotone, "Don't ever do that again."

Jinx slapped her again.

Raven's head jerked to the side, but this time, she lashed out with her powers shoving Jinx back. Black energies wrapped around her and squeezed. "I will not allow you to act so insubordinately, Jinx. You will follow my orders, and you will-"

A bleeping cut her off. She paused in her lecture to walk to her jewelry box and open it. Taking out the Titan communicator, she flipped it open, ignoring Jinx's strangled gasp for breath.

"What?"

"Put her down, Raven." It was Robin's voice. She looked out the window and saw him crouched on a building across from them, binoculars staring, "Let her go, and calm down."

With a thump, Raven dropped Jinx to the floor, then snapped her com unit shut. Putting it back in the box, she shut the lid and took a deep, calming breath.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it." Jinx pulled herself up and cracked her neck to the side, "I hit you first."

"But I deserved it."

"Yeah, you did." Jinx rubbed her arms to get the circulation back, "Just try to lighten up, okay? If you can control your powers like that when I've got you that pissed off, you can control them when you're happy too."

Raven opened her mouth, paused, then shut it. "Damn. You're right."

"It happens."

"Where did Hanna go?"

Jinx arched an eyebrow at the sudden change in topic, "Out to meet a boy. I have Beast Boy tailing her."

"Good." Raven sighed, "I have a bad feeling about tonight."

"Like, more assassins?" Jinx glanced out the window nervously.  
"No, just..." she shook her head, "I'm worried for Hanna."

"Me too." Jinx walked over to her and hugged her lightly, "But I'm less worried about you now."

"Thanks, Jenny." Raven hugged her back, then stepped away, "Let's go find Becka."

* * *

_Friday: 01:22 - The girls dorms_

Jinx sat in the common area, flipping through early morning infomercials on the large TV when she heard the plank being replaced at the supply closet. Flipping off the set, she waited while it was pulled back into the building, then as the door opened and Hanna walked out into the hallway.

She moved slowly, as if she was sore, and her eyes were cast down to the floor. Her dress was riding up slightly, and her shoes were in her right hand, but other then that, the only sign she'd been out at all was her slightly tangled hair and her lightly smudged makeup. No visible bruises or cuts, and she seemed more contemplative than hurt or upset.

Shrugging, Jinx stood up and met her, "Have a good time?"

Hanna didn't seem to notice her at first, then looked up and squinted, "Jenny? Oh, hi. What's up?"

Jinx blinked, then repeated herself, "Did you have a good time tonight?"

"Oh... yeah. I guess."

Stepping forward, Jinx put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey... what's wrong?"

Shrugging out of her friends grip, Hanna just looked away and mumbled, "Nothing... just... the night didn't go how I envisioned it." she looked back at Jinx and forced a smile, "I'm just going to go sleep it off. I'll see you in the morning."

Nodding slowly, Jinx let her go, "Goodnight then."

Hanna waved over her shoulder as she quietly entered her and Becka's room. Shrugging, Jinx flipped off the common room lights and walked down to the room she shared with Raven. Opening the door, she stepped in and was greeted by the strangest sight of the day.

Raven sat on her bed, her head leaned forward against Beast Boy's stomach, and his hands were wrapped around her neck. He looked deadly serious, and Raven's shoulders were slumped in defeat.

"Okay... this doesn't feel like a makeup hug..." Jinx shut the door, "What the hell is going on?" her voice took on a frightened edge, "BB... what happened to Hanna?"

"You'd better sit down." he told her and stepped back from Raven. Jinx noticed with shock that there were tears at the corners of the other girls eyes. She didn't look so much upset as she did _pissed off _though.

Jinx walked over and sat down next to Raven, "Tell me." she demanded.

"Start from the beginning." Raven said quietly, "I want to hear the whole thing."

Beast Boy nodded and sat down on the floor in front of them, "You'd better cast that silence spell on the door again, Jinx. This is going to take a while."

* * *

Closing notes: Gasp! What the hell happened to Hanna? Find out next time, in:

**Aside #2, Hanna's Long Night!**


	7. Aside 2: Hanna's Long Night

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: Aside #2, ya'll. It's short, but the asides are suppose to be. I'll have the next chapter up in a week or two, after I figure out what happens in it. I don't want to jump right into the next part of the story just yet, so I need an in-between chapter to buffer things. This one will have to tide you over.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

_**Aside #2: Hanna's Long Night**_

Beast Boy swooped out the window of Raven and Jinx's dorm room with angry thoughts pouring through his head. Why did Raven have to be such a bitch all the time? Why was she acting as if his feelings meant nothing? And why the flying _fuck_ did she sleep with Speedy of all people?

With a bird-like sigh, Beast Boy landed outside the wall and became a bloodhound. Sniffing around, he picked up the perfumed trail that Hanna had left behind. An animal with a less sensitive nose would suffice to follow the trail though, so he morphed into a less conspicuous rat, and darted off down the sidewalk.

* * *

By the time he caught up to her, she was already showing her fake ID to a bouncer (who was wearing a nicotine patch on his arm) outside of a dance club. He quickly scurried in after her.

As soon as he got into the main part of the building he regretted ever having agreed to following Hanna. While he didn't mind loud parties or flashing lights, or even the smell of so many bodies pressed into one place, he defiantly didn't like all of it at once. The place was a meat house, and he found himself wondering what a nice girl like Hanna was doing in a place like this.

Beast Boy quickly scurried up a support beam to avoid being stepped on, and watched from the rafters, trying to pick out the blonde girl in the huge mess of people.

* * *

The first thing Hanna had done was head to the bar and order herself a Red Bull and vodka. As she sipped the drink, her eyes scanned the dance floor and surrounding booths for the young man she was meeting. He'd promised her a good time, and a cruise around town to all the good bars, but had said Thursday was the only day he could meet her.

Her eyes finally fell on him, sitting in a booth with another guy. As she walked over, he looked up and caught her eye. She winked and he grinned. As she came up to the table, he was already shooing his friend away.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation." she said into his ear as she sat down next to him

"Naw, we were just kicking around anyway while I waited for you. Glad you decided to show."

Hanna giggled and took him in. His name was Brad, and he was taller, with dark hair, and dark brown eyes. Tonight he wore a loose fitting shirt with some kind of athletic logo on it, and stylish jeans with simple brown boots. A thin gold chain hung about his neck, and his one diamond earring flashed whenever he turned his head.

"So you want to show me the town, or what?" she snuggled up closer to him and batted her eyes playfully.

"Hell yes, babe. How about we do some dancing first?"

"Sure thing. I'm gonna rock your world, Brad."

"Oh, I know you will." he grinned as they stood up and walked to the dance floor.

* * *

Beast Boy finally caught sight of her again, dancing with a strange man. Probably the one she had come here to meet. He kept an eye on her until he noticed a different blonde with a top that was cut down to her navel. As his eyes trailed across her figure, a little voice in the back of his head told him to get back to work.

It was that annoying voice that sounded like Robin.

Tearing his eyes away from the large breasted bombshell, Beast Boy scanned the room, but found he had lost Hanna again. Cursing his lack of attention span, the green rat redoubled his efforts.

* * *

Hanna sat back down at the table and brushed some sweat out of her eyes. The dance floor was packed, and after they had danced a few dances, Brad had gone to get them some drinks. She smiled as she downed the rest of her Red Bull and vodka, then waited for him to arrive with her next beverage. When he came back, it was with a broad grin.

"Gin and Tonic, right? It's what you were having the other night."

"Perfect." Hanna smiled and took the drink from him. Taking a sip, she winced, "Damn. They made this one strong."

"All the better!" he grinned and she grinned back, "So tell me a little more about yourself, Hanna. You said you go to school around here... JCU, or JCTI?"

"Um..." she hadn't thought of a cover story. She had figured that 'I go to school around here' was a vague enough description of herself to keep things safe, but her fake ID said she was twenty one, which meant she was a collage student. Thinking fast, she answered, "I go to JCU. I'm studying Education."

"You want to be a teacher?"

"Yeah, secondary. High school preferably."

"That's brave... man, I remember when I was in high school... I was a handful."

"I bet you were. Probably making all your teachers swoon."

"Naw, I was a lanky, ugly kid. I've had to work to get this body." he flexed in a joking manner, as he wasn't incredibly built, but he did look like he worked out a little.

"Well, I think you look _good_." she winked again, and threw in a hair flip.

He ate it up, "Well, you know... you're pretty damn good looking yourself, babe."

She giggled and took another healthy gulp of her drink, wincing yet again, "Man... this thing has some kick... I'm feeling dizzy already."

"Really?" he looked slightly concerned, "Why don't you go ahead and just take a few more sips and we can get out of here. Get you some air."

"No, no... I don't want to waste it. I'll be fine." she giggled and took another swig.

* * *

Beast Boy located Hanna once again, with the same man, in a booth. After what seemed like at least a half hour, they got up and started for the door. Hanna seemed to be leaning on him quite heavily.

With a ratty frown, Beast Boy scurried after them. After a moment, he gave up on running and became a fly, buzzing along to catch up to them. He barely made it out the door before it shut behind them.

"So where to, babe?" the strange man asked.

"Dun'kair..." Hanna slurred out and fell into him, "Jus... tak'me weerev'r." she giggled.

"Okay... right this way then." he chuckled and held her up, "Come on, the walk and the fresh air will be good for you. Let's go."

"Mm'kay." and they started off down the street, presumably to another bar. Beast Boy became a sparrow and started to fly after them when a resounding boom filled the night air behind him. Turning and flying up a little higher, he saw smoke billowing up into the air.

With a sigh, he flew off to the disturbance. His job was as a Titan first, and Hanna's baby sitter second. He'd be able to pick up her scent as a bloodhound later any way.

* * *

After a brief tussle with a freshly escaped Cinderblock (would they ever make a cell that could hold that guy for more than a few weeks?) in which Starfire helped him take the stone giant down, Beast Boy returned to the club and became a bloodhound as soon as he touched the ground. The bouncer standing outside the doors shouted in alarm, but calmed when he saw the dog was green.

"That you, Beast Dude?" he asked.

Beast Boy looked up, then became himself again. He always pandered to his adoring fans, "Sure thing, man. How's it going?"

"The usual, you know? Working my job, trying to quit smoking... just getting by in a peaceful city, thanks to you Titans."

"Good to hear. Hey, I'm on a case, so I'll see you around, okay?" he pointed and clicked his tongue.

"Sure thing, man! Later!"

Beast Boy became the hound again and picked up Hanna's trail. He left the grinning, happy bouncer and started off down the street.

* * *

The battle with Cinderblock had taken far too long for his comfort, and now, as he neared the low rent section of town, he knew it had been a bad idea to leave Hanna for even a second. There were no bars over in this area, just a few miles of apartments and convenience stores.

This guy was taking a drunk, innocent seventeen year old girl to his cheep apartment, where he'd do God knows what to her...

Beast Boy found the trail again and hurried along, trying to find her as quickly as possible.

* * *

Hanna looked around the room she found herself in with blurry vision, "What the... hey, Brad?" she called out weakly.

"Yeah babe?" his face suddenly filled her rather narrow tunnel of vision and she blinked up at him impossibly slowly.

"Where are we?"

"We're at my place. You were really out of it, so I brought you some place you could lie down..."

"Oh." she struggled to sit up, "I should get home..."

"No, it's cool. Just take a load off for now. Here..." he reached out, "Let me help you get out of your dress so you can relax..."

"I... don't wanna..."

"It'll be best, Hanna."

Her blurry mind couldn't come up with any excuses, "Okay... but I can't move so well... must be really drunk still... sorry..."

"No, it's okay..." he grinned, "You're just fine, babe. Just fine..."

* * *

Hanna's trail led up to a point on the sidewalk and stopped. Beast Boy turned into himself and looked around.

He was at a bus stop.

"Oh, fuck me..." he yanked out his T-Comp and punched in a few commands. After a moment, he growled at the device, "Stupid... why didn't I learn to use this thing better?" he opened a channel, "Hey! Cy! You at the Tower, man?"

_"Right here, man. What're you doing out still? Robin and Speedy have the late shift."_

"I'm working a separate case." Beast Boy replied, "Hey, I can't get the T-Comp to do it, so I was wondering if you could give me the bus rout for the bus that picks up at..." he glanced up, "Meanders Street and Trams Avenue."

_"Give me a minute." _Cyborg was gone for a few seconds, then he was back, _"I'm patching it through to you now. Hope it helps."_

Beast Boy looked at all the stops the bus made after it picked up at this one, "This is great man. I owe you one."

_"What's this case about? Anything to do with Cinderblock?"_

"No, he was just a distraction... this is for Raven and Jinx."

_"Those girls go out again?"_

"Just one of 'em. I'm following to make sure she stays out of trouble."

_"Alright... if you need any help though, you call in, okay? Either Star or I can be there in a heartbeat." _

"Thanks man, but I can handle this one myself."

_"Right on. Cyborg out."_ and the line went dead. Beast Boy tucked away the T-Comp, then flew up into the night as a hawk, heading for the first stop on the list.

* * *

Hanna regained a semblance of consciousness once again, her dulled senses a bit sharper this time, "Hrmm..." she felt hands moving over her back, and down one of her thighs. Why wasn't she wearing her dress?

Oh yeah. Brad had helped her out of it so she could be more comfortable. But that didn't seem right, did it? She barely knew him, so why was she taking her clothes of for him?

As she thought this, she felt her bra unclasp. She gasped weakly and stirred in Brad's arms, "Brad? What're you doing?" she found she could barely mumble.

"Showing you a good time, babe... just like you wanted."

"No... I thought... we were going to go bar hopping, and we were going to have fun-"

"This _is_ fun..." Brad's hands were gentle, and he was touching her in ways that she had to admit, felt pretty good. She moaned.

"Brad... I don't want to go all the way..."

"You sure about that? You seem to be enjoying yourself so much..."

"I'm still a virgin..." she muttered as he lowered his lips to her neck and nipped at the sensitive skin there playfully, "Wanna wait until... I find the right guy..."

"You don't think I'm the right guy?"

"I hardly know you... how would I know if you are or not?" she struggled to sit up, but her body wasn't responding to her mental demands.

"Just go with the flow babe... I promise, you'll love every second of it."

"No!" she managed to sound slightly more insistent, "I can't! I don't want you to... to..." his hand slipped down into her panties, and she arched her back into him as he pressed in just the right way, "Oh God! Brad!"

"That's right, Hanna... you like that?"

"Please..." tears started pudding in her eyes, "Don't..."

Brad smiled down at her, his face looking larger than it really was. His handsome face, split by a feral grin, "You'll love this, baby, I promise..."

* * *

Beast Boy sniffed around the fourth stop he had to investigate, and almost yipped in delight as he picked up the scent of Hanna's perfume again. Following the trail, he found that it led to a dark ally way, where the scent broke up again, and became more difficult to follow.

Becoming himself again, Beast Boy stomped around and pulled at his hair, "It's like this guy knew a bloodhound would be following him! Grrr! Why's he got to take all these weird routs?"

He was a dog again in a split second, and, after he picked up the trail once again, moved off down the ally.

* * *

Hanna cried as he pulled her dress back over her head and zipped it up the back. She cried as he pulled his own pants back on, and grabbed a shirt. She cried as he put on his shoes, then slipped hers on her own feet.

She cried silently as he lifted her and carried her out his door, and down the stairs. She cried as he carried her outside, and into the ally way, behind a stack of trash cans. She cried as he knelt in front of her after depositing her there.

"It was great, babe. I know how much you liked it... you responded in all the right ways... damn, you were good Hanna. When you're less drunk, you should go on home. The fresh air out here will be better for you."

Hanna cried and whimpered a little as he stood up and walked back into the building.

* * *

It was coming up on 12:30 AM when he finally found her. Beast Boy became himself again as he saw the crumpled form of a girl wearing a nice blue dress, hiked up around her thighs. His sensitive nose picked up more smells than just her perfume, and as he walked over, he shook his head with wide eyes.

"God, no... Hanna..." he knelt down next to her and peeled open one of her tear stained eyes, "Hanna? Can you hear me?" Her pupils were dilated, and she whimpered as he checked her pulse.

"Don't..." she whispered, "Don't touch me..."

"I have to make sure you're alright. Do you know who I am?"

"You're... green..."

"I'm Beast Boy, from the Teen Titans. Is your vision blurry?" a note of panic was entering his voice.

"A little. I'm feeling better now than I did while Brad was... was..." she trailed off and squeezed her eyes shut, "Please don't touch me..."

Standing up quickly, Beast Boy yanked out his T-Comp. He needed to call Raven so she could come burn all the drugs out of the girls system, then they could go up and arrest the guy, and...

"Damn." Raven was under cover. He couldn't contact her. He started going over a list of possible people to help him in his head as he checked the windows of the building for lights that were still on. Seeing one, he decided to fly up and see what he could see, after he called in a little help.

"Beast Boy to Starfire."

_"I am here, Beast Boy. How may I assist you?"_ the perky alien sounded happy to hear from him.

"I need you to come to my location, ASAP, Star."

_"What is the matter?" _

"I have a serious situation here."

_"Can you explain in more detail-"_

"No." He cut her off with a fair amount of venom in his voice, "Not over the T-Comp. Just get here fast."

_"ETA is four minutes."_ Starfire sounded extremely worried, and her end of the line went dead as she concentrated on flying faster.

Beast Boy shut his own T-Comp and stashed it away. Taking one last look at Hanna, he muttered, "Now, let's see what your boy is up to."

* * *

A green sparrow perched on the window sill of Brad's apartment as he talked into a cordless phone. It listened as the black haired young man spoke in excited tones.

"Hell yeah, dude, she was awesome." he listened to the other end for a moment, then laughed, "Right no. Best part was though, I think she was using a fake ID. No way was this chick twenty-one." More listening, then he nodded, "Yeah, I think she was legal, but ripe, man. She was ripe."

If a sparrow could scowl, Beast Boy would have been doing it. He continued listening.

"So yeah, you gonna have more of that stuff for me? I mean, it worked so well, and it's like, colorless in any drink... Sweet action, bro. Yeah, I'll have the cash for it." He listened for a few more seconds, then grinned, "I think I'm going for a red head next. With nice bit boobs." he listened, "Sure thing man! Twenty percent off is worth having you around for a three way! Yeah, I'll look for a tramp. Sweet. Hey, peace out, man."

Beast Boy fluttered away from the window sill as Brad turned the phone off. He flew down to the ground and became a kitten.

Padding over to Hanna, he curled up in her lap and let her weakly stroke his fur.

* * *

Starfire landed in the ally way silently and looked around, "Beast Boy?" she whispered.

A kitten jumped in front of her, then became her friend a moment later, "Star..." he looked over at Hanna, and the alien girl noticed her for the first time.

"Oh my! That is one of Becka's friends from-" Beast Boy clamped a hand over her mouth and looked her in the eyes in a very serious manner, "Take her back to the school, but stay out of sight and wait for me. I'll be there shortly."

He took his hand away and she spoke again, "But why must I stay hidden? Should we not inform Robin of this?"

"Trust me Star, the last thing Hanna needs to see right now is a man wearing a mask trying to talk to her." Beast Boy stood up and looked up at the window with the light on, "Go."

"What are you going to do?" Star sounded worried.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be along shortly. Just stay hidden, and try to say soothing, calming things to Hanna. She's drugged right now."

Star nodded slowly, then walked to Hanna. She easily lifted the smaller girl in her arms, and took to the air. Pausing, she looked back down at Beast Boy, "Do not do anything rash, Garfield."

"I'm fine, Kori." he looked back at her with blazing green eyes, "For the first time in my life, I know exactly what I have to do in a situation."

Starfire nodded, and flew off. Beast Boy looked up at the window, then pulled out his T-Comp. He did a quick search for the occupant of the apartment with the light on.

* * *

Brad stretched as he walked across his apartment and yawned. He hadn't expected to finish so quickly, but the one drink had completely blown the girls mind. Now he had some time to kill before he went to bed.

"Think I'll watch that horror flick I rented." he said out loud to no one as he walked over to the TV.

"You're not going to be doing anything for a while, Bradley Wessmen."

Brad whirled around, looking for the source of the voice, "Who the fuck is there?" he moved to the kitchen as he saw something dart across the room from the corner of his eye. Yanking a stake knife out of the block he kept on the counter, he whirled around in time to see another shadow dart behind the couch.

"Whoever the fuck you are, I'll cut you up if you so much as try to fuck with me!" he brandished the knife.

"Oh, I'm not too worried about you, Brad." the voice was coming from everywhere. Brad spun around, looking for it, "See, I did some homework on you, and it turns out that you're a known sex offender. Did three years for date rape back when you were nineteen, before prison over crowding gave you an early release." The voice chuckled, "Guess old habits die hard, huh? But now you've found a new method! A drug that shuts off motor skills and adds a bit of susceptibility to it's victims, but leaves the central nervous system active so they can be conscious the whole time, and feel everything you do to them."

"Shut the fuck up, man! Where the fuck are you?"  
"Is it their tears, Brad? Is that what gets you off?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Or is it their pathetic cries for help, even though they know they got themselves into a bad situation. Is it that you like making them feel like cheep whores?"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU WHEN I FIND YOU!" Brad stormed over and flipped the couch over, revealing nothing.

"Wait! I know!" the voice suddenly turned ugly, and now Brad started to get worried, "What you _really_ like, is when you drag an innocent, seventeen year old girl into your smelly, dingy little _rat hole_, and have your way with her, knowing that she probably wont tell anyone about it!"

The easy chair suddenly flew across the room, and a grizzly bear roared at him, then shrunk down into the form of Beast Boy, who flew forward with a hard right that took Brad right off his feet. The steak knife flew from the downed man's hand and he kicked back until he was in a sitting position.

"What the fuck?" he stared in shock at the green Titan.

"Does it make you feel powerful, Brad?" Beast Boy advanced on him, a look of pure anger on his face, "Does it make you feel like a bad ass when you rape these girls?"

"You can't hurt me! You're a Titan! You have to take me into custody or some shit!"

"Says who?" Beast Boy grinned in an evil manner, "I don't think jail is going to teach you anything... Lord knows it didn't last time."

"You maul me as a lion or something and the cops'll know! You can't do _shit_, Animal Man!"

Beast Boy just grinned wider, "Guess I'd better not change form then, huh? Fortunately for me, I learned how to fight from the Boy Wonder himself, so I know just how to hit you where it hurts, Brad."

"No way... you're fucking crazy..." Brad backed up until he was against the wall. Beast Boy just kept advancing slowly.

"Am I?" he laughed, "Well, I guess I just might be, but you should have realized Brad, that this would come back and bite you in the ass one day..." Beast Boy stopped, looming over him, "Well, today is just _not_ your lucky day, is it?"

As Brad shouted in alarm, Beast Boy grabbed him. There was the sound of bone striking bone and flesh and a spray of blood splattered across the TV, accompanied by the sound of Brad grunting and crying out in pain.

The sounds continued for a solid ten minutes.

* * *

Beast Boy walked down an ally way and stopped next to a crouching Starfire, where she was checking Hanna's pulse, "How is she?"

"The drug fades fast. She is almost completely back to normal." Star looked up, "I fear her mind is rather... broken though." looking back at the blonde girl, she whispered, "Hanna, what has happened to you?"

"Don't wanna talk about it." Hanna stood up slowly, and shook her head, "That shit wears off quick..." looking at the two, her eyes grew wide, "Ohmygod!"

"What?" Beast Boy and Starfire said in unison.

"You're Titans!"

"Yeah? And?" Beast Boy arched an eyebrow.

"Cassie! I thought she looked familiar! How else would you have found me so fast!"

They both went ridged in shock. Starfire chuckled weakly, "Heh heh... What is it you speak of?"

"Cassie! She's Raven, isn't she?" Hanna pounded a fist into her palm, "And that assassin that was after Becka! You're protecting her for the Senator, aren't you?"

The two exchanged a look, then Beast Boy stepped forward, "Yeah, we are, but you can't tell anyone, okay? We've stopped a lot more than just that first sniper, but it's imperative to the mission that Raven and... well..."

"Who's Jenny? She can't be just a random girl-"

"Jinx." Starfire supplied, "A reformed villain."

"Like, the HIVE Jinx?" Hanna looked excited.

"Yeah... how'd you know about her?"

"I read the papers, you know... I wont tell, don't worry, but I'm going to have to talk to Cassie... erm... Raven..."

"Call her Cassie." Beast Boy said, "You'll blow her cover."

"Right... can I tell her I know?"

Beast Boy sighed, "Yes, fine... just... no one else, okay?"

"Okay... thanks for helping me out tonight, guys... I better get back though-"

"Hanna?" Starfire stepped forward and caught the girls arm. The blonde looked back and her face fell when she saw the serious look on Star's face, "You went though... quite an ordeal this night... I... believe I know what happened, and I think I may be able to relate to your situation somewhat..." Beast Boy shot her a disbelieving look, "If you want to talk about it at all... just have Raven contact me."

Hanna stared for a moment, then pulled away, "I'll be fine." she said, and turned and walked towards the school. Star went to follow, but Beast Boy held her back.

"She's concentrating on something else for the moment, Kori... just let her be for now. Raven and Jinx will keep working on her, but when she's ready to talk, she'll talk."

"I feel so helpless... was she...?"

"Yeah, she was." Beast Boy shook his head, "Don't worry, I already took care of the problem."

"Very well. I must return to patrol. Will you be going back to the tower?"

"Soon. I just want to talk to Hanna one last time."

"Very well. I will see you in the morning."

"See ya, Star. And thanks."

She nodded with a sad smile, and flew up into the night. Beast Boy watched her go, then turned and took a deep breath. He became a mouse and dashed off after Hanna.

* * *

Hanna struggled with the plank, trying to get it back up to the window of the second floor. She'd never had to do it by herself before, and it was almost impossible. Just as she was about to give up and go in the front door of the dorm, a green gorilla appeared below her and lifted the plank for her. She smiled.

"Thanks."

Beast Boy became himself again and looked up at her where she was perched on the wall, "Hanna?"

"Yeah?" she looked down at him with a quizzical expression.

"Don't shove it down and forget about it."

Her face became blank, and she started out across the plank, "I don't want to think about it yet."

"And that's fine. Just... know that I took care of Brad."

"You turned him in to the cops?" she paused in her crossing and looked back down at him with that same blank face, "I don't want to go to the cops."

"I didn't think you would. So I didn't turn him in."

"But...?"

"I _took care _of it."

She looked frightened, "You didn't kill him did you?"

He shook his head, "No, but I called an ambulance for him when I was done with him. I think he'll think twice about doing anything wrong, ever again. He'll have plenty of time to think about it while he's drinking through a straw in the hospital."

Her face melted into a half concerned, half contemplative mask, and she nodded, "Thanks."

"Just doing my job." he nodded back, "Get some rest."

"You to. Will I see you?"

He nodded, "Keep a look out for green animals during the day. I'm around."

"Okay. Goodnight, Beast Boy."

He shook his head, "Call me Gar." He smiled up at her, "All my friends do."

She blinked, "Okay then." a small smile, "Goodnight, Gar."

"'Night." and he watched her crawl inside, then retract the plank. As soon as the window shut, he became a bird and flew up to Raven and Jinx's window sill. He pecked the window until Raven opened it.

"What?" she demanded in a whisper.

Beast Boy flew past her into the room, where he saw she'd been studying something or another. He turned back into himself and stood up with a serious expression on his face, "Rae... something bad happened to Hanna while she was out..."

Raven listened.

* * *

Closing Notes: Check out my profile for story notes, and then click the homepage link for my Live Journal, and reviewer responses. Yes, I'm going to start them for this story as well as GCC.

For those of you who care, a Raven/Robin song fic I had up called _Kinda' I Want To _set to the NIN song of the same name was recently pulled by the admin here. If you'd like a to read that story, just e-mail me and I'll be happy to send you a copy. Note that like ALL of my stories, it's rated 'M' for mature content, but mostly sex. It's limey, so be warned.


	8. Friends In Need

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: I wrote this out, looked at it, and saw that it was _way_ too long. So I split it into two chapters. This is the first one.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

_**Chapter Six - Friends in Need**_

* * *

**__**

Raven stepped into the shower room the next morning, her bare feet padding along the tiled floor. It was early, and she'd barely slept, but she was used to long days of fighting crime followed by long nights of being woken up at all hours to go back out and fight _more_ crime.

One night without sleep wasn't going to kill her.

It was early enough that the other girls were still in bed, and wouldn't be up for at least another half hour. The only one who got up this early in order to take an extra long shower and fix her hair and makeup just right, was Hanna. Sure enough, there was one shower running, and Hanna's voice hummed tunelessly from within the stall.

Stopping outside the stall the blonde was using, Raven waited for only two minutes before the water shut off and Hanna opened the door and stepped out, a towel wrapped around her chest, and her hair up in one as well. She started, and stared at Raven with wide eyes.

"How are you?" Raven asked gently.

Hanna's eyes grew hard in an instant, "He told you, didn't he? Beast Boy told you what happened last night!"

"Of course he did. Jenny and I have been compromised. We needed to know that you knew, and what events led to you finding out." Raven reached out, and gently touched Hanna's shoulder, "I'm... sorry."

"Yeah? Well you can just..." she stopped when she saw the tears forming in Raven's eyes, "Cassie? I... didn't mean to... aw shit... look, it's not that big a deal-"

"Don't say that." Raven swiped at the tears, "Of course it is! And I shouldn't have let you go... I had a bad feeling, and my feelings are almost always right..."

"It was my dumb decision, Cassie-"

Half the tiles in the wall at the far end of the shower room cracked with a loud splintering noise. Hanna jumped and stared at them for a moment, then back at Raven. The dark haired girl was standing perfectly still, her eyes closed, and her face emotionless. After a moment, she opened her eyes and blinked at the blonde.

"Holy... what the hell was-"

"My powers..." Raven looked away, "They're closely tied to my emotions. When I grow upset, they flare out of control. I'm sorry if I scared you." Her voice was empty, and hollow.

"That's why you were so down yesterday isn't it? What happened to upset you so much that you had to clamp down on your emotions like that?"

"I had a trying night." Raven repeated her words from the morning before, and shook her head, "It doesn't matter."

Hanna bit her left and reached out a hand, "Cassie, I-"

"My name isn't Cassie."

"It is to me." Hanna stepped forward and hugged her. Raven went ridged in her arms for a moment, then hugged her back.

"Gar told me what he did to the man that... did this to you... It wasn't pretty."

"Good. That bastard deserved every last punch, I'm sure."

"He did. More than you know." Raven pulled away, "If you need to talk about it-"

"Thanks, but I'm fine." Hanna shook her head, "I'm going to go to class today, and everything will be fine."

Raven pinned her with a glare, "Don't keep it bottled up forever, Hanna. If you need help, I'm empathic. I can help you sort through your feelings and thoughts."

"I'll keep it in mind." Hanna squared her shoulders, "Let's get ready for school."

"Right..." Raven watched the other girl walk to the mirrors and prepare to do her hair, then walked to one of the shower stalls herself.

* * *

"She's going to pretend it never happened, isn't she?" Jinx sighed as she and Raven dressed later that morning.

"Of course she is." Raven pulled on her skirt, "For now anyway. When she's ready, she'll talk about it."

"Did you sense anything-"

"I sensed a lot of things." Raven shook her head, "But nothing I'm going to share. Her emotions and thought are her own, and will remain that way unless she wants others to know them."

"Except you." Jinx pointed out.

"That can't be helped. I'm empathic. I can't block her out when she's broadcasting so loudly."

"At least tell me if she's going to flip out... I mean, she could just be walking down the hall and have some random guy accidentally bump into her and palm a breast or something and she could have a flash back and-"

"Jenny?" Raven interrupted her.

"Yeah?"

"Please shut up."

Jinx blinked for a moment, then sighed, "Okay."

* * *

The morning classes were uneventful, but by the time lunch rolled around, the other girls had noticed Hanna's distant behavior. Jinx found herself cornered by Janice and Becka.

"So she didn't say anything last night?" Becka asked with a frown, her interrogation of the thin blonde not turning up any answers.

"Not a thing. She just said the night hadn't gone like she'd envisioned it, then went off to bed."

"And when was that?" Janice asked with her soft, southern voice.

"Around 1:30... more like 1:20."

Becka frowned deeper, "So she went out without telling anyone except you-"

"I only knew because I caught her sneaking over the wall." Jinx pointed out.

"Okay. So she snuck out, came back like... five hours later, and now she's acting like none of us are worth talking to." Becka shook her head, "Hanna's not like this."

"Maybe she's a clone, or an alien!" Jinx looked excited, and the other two stared at her like she had grown a second head, "No, really! This kind of stuff happened back in Gotham all the time!"

"She's not a clone, Jenny." Raven rolled her eyes as she walked up behind her 'step-sister.' She looked over at Becka and Janice, "The incident with Mrs. Gretcher was purely localized, and it was the only time it happened."

Becka and Janice glanced at each other with wide eyes.

"I'm sure Hanna just had an off night. Like she said she did." Raven glared around at all of them, "I had an off day yesterday, she's having one today. It happens. It's normal."

"Is it normal for people to talk to squirrels on their off days?" Janice asked as she pointed over to where Hanna sat under a tree. The blonde girl was indeed, talking to a squirrel.

Raven squinted.

A green squirrel.

* * *

"So I totally don't understand a thing we're doing in history... I mean, who cares about French dictators anyway?" Hanna gave the squirrel a questioning glance, and it nodded back, nibbling on a nut while she talked.

"I mean, sure Napoleon was a great military leader and all, but-"

"Napoleon wasn't actually that great a military leader, really."

Hanna jumped a little, then relaxed as a dark form sat down next to her, in front of the squirrel, which frowned up at it, "Hey Cassie."

"The girls are worried that you're losing your mind." Raven shooed the squirrel, but it remained where it was, glaring at her.

"So what if I'm being a little reclusive today? They all have their PMS days, why can't I?"

"Actually, it's because you're talking to a squirrel."

"...Oh."

"Yeah. If you want to talk with Gar, the best time is after 6:00 PM, when he's _off duty_," she poked the squirrel in the chest, "and in a form more capable of communication."

The squirrel had the good grace to look embarrassed, and it quickly scurried away to get a better vantage point to watch Becka from.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take him away from his mission-"

"Don't worry about it. I have a feeling he sought you out in the first place."

"Yeah. Why'd he do that?"

"I try not to fathom why Beast Boy doest the things he does."

Hanna giggled, "So that boyfriend you were talking about, Rob-"

"Robin is dating Starfire. There was never anything between he and I."

"Oh. What about that Roy guy you were talking about?"

"Speedy."

"Like, the archer, Speedy?"

"The same."

"You slept with him?" Hanna looked a little surprised, "But... he's so... loud! And flamboyant! Nothing like your type!"

"Which is why we're not dating." Raven stood up and brushed off her skirt, "Come on. Lunch is almost over, and we need to integrate you back into human society before the girls start to ask too many questions."

Hanna stood as well, and glanced at Rave, "Um... Cassie?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you helping to cover for me?"

Raven paused, then turned to her friend, "It's what you want me to do, isn't it?"

"How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Know what I'm thinking?"

"Feeling. I know what you're feeling. Empathy. And I was born with it. If I choose to use it in a manner that helps people rather than hinders them, that is my prerogative."

"Right. That's why you're a Titan, right?"

Raven turned away once again, "Not the main reason, no, but one of them."

"What are the others?"

"Some other time, Hanna. Some other time." and Raven waved to Jinx, Becka, and Janice, motioning them over.

* * *

Hanna changed slowly after gym class, taking extra long in the shower. When she was sure most of the other girls had left the locker room, she wandered out and slowly pulled on her uniform. While she was changing, three girls walked in from the bathroom area where they had been putting on their makeup.

Hanna groaned inwardly when she saw that it was Ginger Hammilton and the pair of harpies that followed her everywhere. She groaned out loud when she was Ginger start to walk over, knowing that she was an easy mark for the stuck up bully.

"Well, well. Hanna Trestel! Where's the rest of the nerd squad you hang out with?"

"Most likely on their way to class, just like you should be." Hanna replied firmly, pulling her blazer on.

"We're both in choir next though! Why don't we wait for you?" Normally it would have sounded like a friendly invitation for companionship, but coming from Ginger, it sounded like a threat.

And frankly, Ginger's threats just didn't scare Hanna.

Not after what she'd been through.

"That's okay, Ginger, you go on. In fact, go find a nice deep hole somewhere, fall in, and die, kay?"

"Well, well. Look who grew a spine." Ginger reached out and turned Hanna's shoulder so that she was looking at the shorter blonde girl in the eye, "You just lost any chance you had of finding a date to the Valentines day dance, bitch. By dinner time tonight, every boy in this school will want nothing to do with you. You know why?" Ginger's friends giggled in an obnoxious manner, "It's because I'll tell them such horrible things about you that they'll think you're nothing but a-"

Hanna didn't let her finish. She grabbed hold of the taller girls arm and yanked her around the benches that ran along in front of the lockers. Slamming the snobby heiress into the mettle wall of lockers, she sneered up into Ginger's shocked face, "You know what, bitch? I don't really fucking care. You go ahead and say whatever the fuck you want about me, because really, everyone thinks you're just a stupid, empty headed slut anyway." Ginger and her friends all gaped at the furious blonde, "You might think you're the best thing on this campus, Ginger, but you're not. You're just a dumbass that has the good fortune to be in line to inherit millions of dollars. The only boys that like _you_," she laughed, "are the ones that are after your cash, and your ass."

Ginger seemed to regain her senses suddenly and shoved back against Hanna, pushing her away. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick your ass to hell and back right now, you ragged fuck toy!"

Hanna's eyes grew wide and she stumbled back. Did Ginger know? How could Ginger know? It would be all over campus by dinner. She would be-

"I'm waiting, bitch!" Ginger all but screamed, her friends backing her up.

A softball flew across the space in-between Hanna and Ginger and slammed into the lockers with so much force that it dented them in and stuck there. All eyes swung over to the door of the locker room, where Jinx stood, practically shaking with rage.

"How's that for a good reason, Ginger?" Jinx stalked into the room, "Now I'm giving you three seconds to get the _fuck_ out of here before I decide that it'd be a good idea to knock every last one of those surgically straightened teeth out of your head."

The three bullies didn't waste any time as they fled out the door. Jinx stopped next to Hanna and touched her arm, "You okay?"

Hanna jerked her arm away, "Don't touch me." Jinx winced, and took a step back. Hanna looked over at her then back down to the ground quickly, "Sorry. I just... I want to be able to stand up for myself. I don't always want a Titan around to save me."

"Well, lucky for you, I'm not a Titan." Jinx grinned, "I was trained in the Hierarchy for International Vengeance and Extermination."

"_That's_ what HIVE stands for?"

"Yep." Jinx grinned, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I guess... what all did you learn there?"

"Oh, how to fight, how to build bombs... how to kill people in about a million different ways. I can fire just about any gun known to man."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"So like, what exactly are your metahuman powers?" Hanna walked over to her bag and picked it up. Jinx arched an eyebrow.

"I can see in the dark like a cat," she motioned to her unusual eyes, "and I have the ability to alter probability to cause misfortune to objects and people."

"What?" They started walking to the door.

"I can throw hex bolts that make bad stuff happen to people."

"Oh..." Hanna nodded her head, "That's pretty cool."

"Yeah." the two of them stepped out of the changing area and into the sunlight, squinting until their eyes could adjust, "I know a good deal of magic too. Mostly black."

"Magic?"

They started down the path that led away from the athletic field, "Yep."

"Does Cassie know any?"

"Probably about as much as I do." Jinx shrugged, "You going to class?"

"No." Hanna shook her head, "I think I'll just head back to the dorm and relax for a little while."

"Sweet. I'd come with you, but I have to stick to Becka." Jinx shrugged.

Hanna nodded, "It's okay. I understand your mission comes before me."

"Yeah. I'll see you in a bit then, okay?"

"Okay." Hanna watched as Jenny dashed off, then sighed and started on her way to the dorms.

* * *

Beast Boy sat in his humanoid form, looking out over the auditorium from one of the highest branches of a near by tree as Jinx raced in through the doors, toting her oboe case with her. He was about to jump down and follow her in as a mouse when his com unit went off. Pulling it out, he flipped it open.

"Beast Boy here."

It was Robin, _"Meet me over on top of the Westmarch Apartments in five minutes." _and the line went dead.

"Oh boy... he found out..." Beast Boy stuck the communicator back in his belt pouch, and took wing as a hawk.

* * *

"Hey." Beast Boy said as he dropped to the roof top next to Robin, "What's up?"

"You know. There was a EMT report last night at a little after midnight about a man who claimed he had been beaten up by Beast Boy. What the hell were you doing last night?" Robin frowned, "And why wont Star talk to me about it?"

"I dished out justice, like we're supposed to, and Star wont talk to you about it, because it's none of your damn business." Beast Boy scowled at the Boy Wonder.

"I have the cops asking questions Gar, that makes it my business." Robin folded his arms, "You know you can't just beat the hell out of perps. What'd he do?"

Beast Boy looked away, "He raped Hanna."

"The blonde one, right?" Robin sounded slightly agitated, "And you didn't turn him in, why?"

"He'd already served time for sexual assault before, and it didn't do any good. The guy needed a good beat down."

"No excuse." Robin shook his head, and opened his mouth to say something more, but another voice cut him off.

"Aw, leave him alone, Dick. I'd have done the same thing." Speedy swung in on a line, then pulled the arrow down it was attached to and reeled the cord back up.

"Roy..." Robin rubbed his eyes through his mask, "I know we go back, man, but would you please let me lead my Team?"

"No way." Speedy sounded firm, "BB did the right thing, and you know it. How many sick fucks like that perp did you and Bats thrash back in Gotham?"

"Jump is different from Gotham." Robin replied with a frown.

"A rapist is a rapist, uh... Dick." Robin shot him a glare, but Beast Boy continued on bravely, "I don't care if I'm in Gateway city and Wonder Woman is breathing down my neck. I would have done the same thing."

Robin sighed, then threw up his hands, "Alright! You two win... I'll cover for you this time, Gar, but it better not happen again. And don't use my real name too much."

"You're real name is Dick?"

"It's Richard, _Garfield_, and only use it when we're in privet."

"Why the sudden change of identity revealing heart? And how did Speedy know?"

"Speedy and I go way back." Robin grinned, "I'm sure he could tell you some stories that I wouldn't want him to repeat. And I changed my mind because... well, most of you already know. Raven's known for a while, Speedy's known who I really am since we met, and I told Starfire the other night. I'm sure Cyborg could have figured it out a long time ago if he wanted to, but I'll tell him when I get back to the tower anyway." Robin smiled a friendly smile, "So in private, it's Dick. Dick Grayson."

"Sweet." Beast Boy nodded with a grin, and Robin began to walk away. He paused at the edge of the building and looked back over his shoulder.

"Oh, and Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"If you do happen to beat the snot out of a rapist again, make sure they perp doesn't see who you are." and he jumped down.

Beast Boy grinned, "Robin's an alright kind of guy."

"One of the best." Speedy nodded as he stepped up next to the green shape shifter.

Suddenly, Beast Boy remembered that he was pissed at Speedy, "You're a real asshole, you know that?"

"Well, yeah, I did." Speedy looked entirely unrepentant, "Do you have a specific reason?"

"Raven."

"What about her?"

"You're messing with her emotions, man! You can't do that to her!"

Speedy sighed and looked away, "You think I don't know that? You think I want to see her so... so... angry at me?" He sounded so weak all of a sudden that Beast Boy took a step towards him.

"Yo, dude... are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay!" Speedy practically shouted, then calmed down, "I've been chasing skirts and getting laid since I was fifteen, Gar. I'm nineteen now, and I'm in my fucking _prime_. So what do I do?" he laughed, "I go and fall for an emotionally crippled ice queen that wants nothing to do with me."

"Holy shit..." Beat Boy blinked, "You're... _in love_ with her?"

"Yes!" Speedy did shout this time, "You want me to write it in blood or something! Yes, Gar, I'm in fucking love with her!"

"Calm down dude!" Beast Boy held up his hands, "Honestly, I feel better about that then if you were just trying for another round of horizontal tango with her."

"Yeah, well..." Speedy kicked at some dust on the rooftop, "I'm just... not used to it. I pride myself on not forming an attachment. Roy Harper doesn't fall in love with _anyone_, least of all a girl like Raven."  
"So what happened?"

"She's perfect."

"Yeah?" Beast Boy chuckled, "How's that?"

"She's hot, she's smart, she has a great sense of humor, even if it is sarcastic as all fuck, and... she's sweet, you know? She's a really good, nice person." he looked over at the school, to the building they both knew Raven was in, "Perfect." he muttered.

Beast Boy looked over as well, and they lapsed into silence for a long time.

* * *

Raven stepped through the door to the second floor from the stairwell with a rather miffed look on her face, "I swear," she muttered, "if Maggie is so excited that Gregory said yes when she asked him to the dance that she has to start throwing paint around, I'd hate to see what happens on her wedding day." She scowled down at her white shirt, which was splattered with red oil paint.

As she started for her room, Hanna walked out of the bathroom down the hall, wearing short red shorts and a white tank top that barely covered her breasts. She stopped and stared for a moment, then rushed forward with a gasp, "My God! Cassie, are you okay? Was there a fight? Is Becka okay? Why are you bleeding all over?"

"It's not blood!" Raven said through Hanna's questions, but the blonde ignored her.

"Jesus Christ, Cassie, let me see... I know you're a big tough Titan and all, but this looks bad-"

"Hanna! It's not- hey! Don't unbutton that!"

"Just let me see, Cass! I can help you-"

"Wait a second! I'm not hurt!"

"You aren't?" Hanna looked up from where she was crouching on the floor, having just unbuttoned Raven's shirt.

Raven glared down at her over her own breasts and frowned, "It's just paint."

"Oh." Hanna's face turned a little red, then she arched an eyebrow, "Hey, that's a nice bra."

"Victoria's Secret." Raven said, pulled it out a bit and looked at it, "It's really comfy."

"With tits your size I can see why that's a concern." Hanna stood up and pulled the material out a little, rubbing it between her fingers, "Micro-fiber?"

"Yeah."

"Sweet."

The door to the stairwell opened again and Janice stepped in, her own front covered in green paint. She stopped and stared at the two in the hallway for a second.

"Pfft." she shook her head and turned to walk to her room, "And I thought _I_ was gay."

Raven and Hanna looked at each other in horror, then jumped apart.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the three girls were seated in the common area, wearing loose, lay about clothes, and giggling about the moment.

"I wish I'd had a camera." Janice laughed, "That would have made a great scrapbook moment."

"I wish I had one of those bras..." Hanna threw Raven a jealous look, "My boobs aren't as big as yours, but they're damn close."

"They make those in a C-cup." Raven replied, looking at both of her friends, "I'll show you this weekend when we're out. Victoria's Secret is at the Westbrook mall."

"Great." Janice nodded, "I could use some new ones."

"I don't know..." Hanna looked away, "I don't think I'll be going out this weekend..."

"Hanna..." Janice said in her soft, southern accent, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I don't want to talk about it."

"It'll help you know-"

"Jan..." Raven reached over and touched the other girls arm, "Just let her be for now."

Janice looked at Raven for a moment, and saw only concern in her amethyst eyes, "Okay."

Hanna threw Raven a 'thank you' look, and they steered their conversation into more acceptable waters.

* * *

As if by unspoken mandate, all of the second floor girls congregated in their common area just after dinner that night. Jinx, Janice and Ami sat on the couch, while Hanna sat in one of the easy chairs by herself. Raven was seated close to her though, on a beanbag chair, sitting in the lotus position.

Becka stood before them, an air of leadership about her, "Alright girls, we're free this weekend. Legally." she winked and there were giggles all around (except from Raven who, predictably, rolled her eyes.) "As is tradition, we will spend the last few hours together doing something ridiculously fun, and possibly hazardous to our health."

Raven arched an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"We went swimming in our clothes off the Montral Pier once." Ami said, "The view of Titans Tower is great from there."

"We tried to set the world record for most number of Swiss Cake Rolls eaten by four people once too." Janice rubbed her stomach and groaned in an orgasmic manner, "Little Debbie can be my woman any day of the week."

"That's so much creepier now that we know you're gay." Hanna said with a half smile. Janice stuck her tongue out at her.

"We all got eyebrow piercings another time." Beck put in, "We had to take them out as soon as we got back, of course, but they looked good for a few hours."

Raven turned and pinned Jinx with a glare, "Did you ever take out your-"

Jinx cut her off by sticking out her tongue, which was still skewered by it's barbell.

"Whoa... how have you managed to hide that?" Ami leaned forward and inspected it.

Jinx put her tongue back in her mouth, "I mumble when I talk to teachers."

Raven shook her head as the rest of the girls giggle. After a moment, Becka spoke again, "So what's it gonna be this time, ladies?"

"Can't we just have dinner somewhere nice?" Raven asked with almost a pleading look in here eyes.

"No." Becka shook her head, "Come on, Cassie. You snuck out and helped us out last weekend, so we know you have a wild side in you somewhere. Let's live a little."

"Nothing too strenuous," Janice said, "Ami and Jenny are still going to be sore."

"We'll be fine." Ami waved it off, "I say we go base jumping off of the Straus Building."

The room was silent for a moment, then Hanna said, "No."

"Shoot." Ami snapped her fingers.

"How about something a little more wild, and a little less dangerous?" Jinx suggested, "There's got to be a strip joint that does amateur night on Saturdays somewhere in this berg."

"You want to strip?" Becka looked shocked, "But you're not old enough!"

"You only have to be eighteen!" Jinx protested.

"But I thought you were seventeen." Janice replied.

Jinx slowly turned her eyes to Raven, who had pinned her with a death glare, "Jenny gets ahead of herself sometimes. She'll be eighteen in a month."

"Really?" Ami looked over at her, "Why didn't you tell us your birthday was so soon?"

"Just wanted it to be a surprise... heh heh..." Jinx scratched her head.

"Anyway, with the fake ID's you girls could definitely do the strip club idea-"

"Wha... Cassie!" Becka all but shouted, "We are not going to be strippers!"

"Why not?" Raven shrugged, "It's good money."

Her comment was met by ringing silence, then the room burst into laughter. Raven smiled and shook her head while Jinx pumped her fist in the air.

"That's my sister! Slut muffin to the end!"

"Shut the fuck up, Jenny."

"Yeah, yeah. Go dye your hair back to purple."

"Your hair was purple?" Hanna shot her a look of shock, and a wink.

Raven rolled her eyes, "Yes."

"Getting off subject." Becka calmed her laughter, "How about... seeing how close we can get to Titans Tower?"

"I'd rather not." Raven said.

"Why?" Ami looked excited, "I think it's a great idea!"

"Votes?" Becka called for a show of hands. Ami, Janice, Hanna, and Jinx all raised their hands. Raven scowled at Jinx.

"That's it then!" Becka clapped her hands in front of herself, "Tomorrow, we try to ring the Titans doorbell!"

* * *

Robin wasn't happy.

_"You couldn't have done something to keep her on campus?"_ he asked Raven over the communicator with a cross look.

"It would have seemed too suspicious." Raven shook her head, "We'll just have to be extra careful. Assign Beast Boy to follow her from the air, and you or Speedy can track her by rooftop-"

_"I can deploy the team just fine on my own, Raven, thank you."_ Robin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What is with you lately?" Raven asked with a slightly agitated tone, "You've been snapping at me every chance you get, and completely ignoring my suggestions-"

_"I lead the Titans, Raven. It's my responsibility."_

Raven glared at him for a moment, then sneered down at him, "Just remember why you're leading the Titans in the first place Robin." he sighed and nodded his head, "Raven out." and she snapped the com unit shut.

"Why _did_ you want to form the Titans?" Jinx asked from her bed, where she was folding paper cranes.

"To counter any plots by my Father to invade this dimension." Raven replied, "Fortunately, we were up to the challenge when it happened."

"Whoa... when was this?"

"About a year and a half ago. Almost two years, actually." Raven sighed, "Just a few months after my sixteenth birthday."

"Huh. Sweet sixteen."

"Yeah." Raven looked down at her hand and concentrated for a moment. The Mark of Scath burned bright red on her palm for just half a second, then vanished, "Really sweet."

"I was in prison on my sixteenth birthday." Jinx supplied, "If it makes you feel any better."

"Not really, but thanks for trying." Raven gave a falsely cheerful thumbs up, then sighed and sat down on her bed, "I'm going shopping with Janice and Hanna tomorrow, so you'll have to stick to Becka."

"Already got it covered. She and Ami and I are going skating." Jinx grinned, "I knew those roller blades would come in handy."

"Good. Stick close to her. You need to be ready to take a bullet if you have to."

"I'll try to avoid having to." Jinx grinned again, but nodded anyway. She knew her place on the mission all too well.

"Let's get some sleep then. I'm sure Roy is on the perimeter by now, so we should be safe to get a few hours of rest."

"You're still sweet on him, aren't you?"

"Of course I am." Raven snapped, then sighed, "Just... I don't want to think about him yet."

"After we're done here." Jinx replied.

"Yeah. After we're done." Raven looked out the window of their room, and blinked when she saw a red clad archer meet her eyes for just a moment from the building top across the street, then dash off into the night. "After we're done."

* * *

It was three in the morning when Speedy heard the scuffing noise behind him, "You're losing your touch."

"Am not." Robin walked over stiffly and sat down next to the red headed archer, pulling a canister off of his belt as he did, "It's just cold out here."

Speedy gave him a look.

"Okay, fine. Kori and I were going at it earlier and I'm still whipped. She's got alien endurance, okay?"

"Oh you poor, poor man." Speedy rolled his eyes, "Too sore from getting fucked by the hottest alien on the planet earlier. How I pity you."

"Shut up. And don't talk about my girlfriend like that." Robin smirked good naturedly and opened the canister, "I brought soup."

"Great." Speedy took the offered food and sipped the warm broth.

"So how are you holding up?" Robin pulled out a pair of high powered micro-binoculars and scanned the area around them.

"Not too bad. It's been slow tonight. Not exactly assassin central anymore."

"Not surprising. Words probably gotten out that the Titans are on duty 24/7 around here. From here on out we can expect only the heavy hitters. Real pros."

"Great." Speedy took another sip and handed the soup back to Robin, who took a sip of his own before screwing the cap back on.

"You know, I wasn't really asking about the surveillance."

Speedy sighed, "Yeah, I figured."

"It's not like you to form an attachment, Roy. I don't want to sound like a calloused jerk here, but you've never had a problem fucking a girl and leaving it at that. Why's Raven so different?"

"You know why, Dick. You've known her the longest of any of us."

Robin nodded, "She's a real catch, man."

"I haven't 'caught' her yet. And she's not just another quick fuck, you know? She's like... I think I want to try for a relationship. Like a real one."

"Never thought I'd see the day when Roy Harper wanted to settle down." Robin grinned, "Next thing you know, Bruce is going to be telling me that he's getting married."

On cue, Robin's communicator started bleeping. Both young men looked at it for a moment, then chuckled.

"If that's Batman, I'm going to laugh." Speedy said.

Robin rolled his eyes and flipped open the com unit, "Robin here."

_"Uh... shit. Wrong Titan. How do these damn things work?" _

"Jinx?" Robin arched an eyebrow, "What are you doing with Raven's communicator?"

_"I'm trying to contact Speedy! What's his code?"_

"Don't bother. He's right here." Robin handed the com unit to Speedy with an amused look.

"Um..." Speedy took it and looked down to see Jinx's face smiling back up at him, "Hiya, Jinx. Something I can do for you?"

_"We need to talk. Without the Bird Boy listening in." _

"Anything you need to say to me can be said in front of Robin."

_"It's about Raven."_

"I'll meet you on top of the Westmarch Apartments in fifteen." he handed the unit back to Robin, "Don't follow me, Dick." and he was gone.

Robin looked down at the communicator with a blank look. Jinx arched an eyebrow up at him, _"Dick?" _

He growled, "Don't blow your cover, _Jenny_." and he snapped it shut.

* * *

Speedy looked over as a black clad Jinx pulled herself up over the edge of the roof, having just come up the fire escape in a completely silent manner, "Hey." he said, walking over to her, "What's up?"

"We need to talk about Cassie..." Jinx stood up and stepped closer to him so they could keep their voices down.

"Who?"

"Raven, numbskull."

"Oh."

"Anyway..." Jinx's hand shot out and gripped him about the throat. He gasped and went for his bow, while trying to pry her hand loose at the same time. She simply smacked his hand away from hers, then pinned him to the roof with a quick fall.

"They hell..." he wheezed out, "Jinx! Let me the fuck go, or I'll kick your ass!"

"You're not in any position to level threats against me, Roy."

"Don't use my real name!"

"Listen up. I want to know right here and now how you feel about Raven. You can't just go kissing her and making her feel things when she's on a mission like this, and if it's all for nothing... if all you're looking for is more casual sex... they you'd better pray that I've forgotten how to rip your throat out from this position."

"Get off of me and let me explain, you psychotic twat!"

"Not making me happy, Roy."

"I said," Speedy got a hand underneath his own body, and shoved up. Jinx was lifted with him as he stood up, his larger frame giving him a size advantage, "don't use my real name!" and he flipped her over his shoulder.

She twisted in mid air and landed in a crouch, ready to spring at him again. By the time she'd landed though, she was already staring at the glowing tip of a particle detonation arrow.

"Okay..." she stood up slowly, "Let's talk then."

"Fine." Speedy kept the arrow pointed at her heart, "I don't know why you attacked me, Jinx, but I'll answer your question anyway." he took a deep breath and let it out, "I'm Roy Harper. I lived with a billionaire for the better part of my adolescent life, then with the Titans East, as a super hero who got no end of chicks. I've been getting laid by women ten years older than me since I was fifteen. I've had one night stands, and I've had relationships that lasted for months at a time. I've been a pimp and a player since I started growing hair on my balls."

His bow and arrow lowered, and his gaze fell to the rooftop. His shoulders slumped, and his posture screamed 'dejected', "But Raven... she makes me feel like giving all that up. I know it's silly... we had sex once, for the hell of it, and ever since then, I haven't been able to get her out of my head."

"That was a year ago, wasn't it?" Jinx arched an eyebrow.

"Don't get me wrong..." Speedy looked up at her and smiled weakly, "I've tried. I've been with other women since then, but... she just... wont get out of my head. We hung out a lot when she was out there on the East Coast for a month. It was just after the whole thing with Trigon and she'd been opening up more, trying to be more social. I think the sex was an experiment in interaction, but... for me, it was a little more." he sighed and looked away from Jinx, "Then seeing her here the other night... it all fell into place."

"You're in love with her." Jinx said in awe, "Raven tamed the playboy."

Speedy nodded miserably.

"Hey! Don't look so put out! You should be happy about this!" she walked over and lifted his chin with one hand, "She likes you too, you know."

"But she can't express it." he nodded, "I know."

"She can if she tries." Jinx replied, "I've been working on her, and I think I might be convincing her to try harder. Her demonic influence isn't completely gone, but it's lessened to a degree. I've got her to control her powers while she was ungodly pissed at me, so loving you shouldn't be too far of a stretch, right?"

"I don't know." Speedy shook his head, "Thanks for telling me, Jinx, but you should get back."

"Don't lose hope yet, Speedy." Jinx said as she walked to the edge of the building and dropped out of sight. Her voice echoed back in the darkness, "Remember... I'm the Mistress of Fate!"

* * *

Closing Notes: Next chapter up! Review for this one first! 


	9. Goin' Downtown

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes: Good to see you again. Read on.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

_**Chapter Seven - Going Down Town**_

* * *

**__**

Raven glanced over at Jinx the next morning as she pulled on her socks, "You look like you didn't get much sleep."

"Yeah. I was kept up by visions of love."

"What?"

"Nothing." Jinx shook her head with a grin.

"What ever you're hiding from me, Jenny, I will find out." Raven narrowed her eyes.

"I bet you will." Jinx stood up and stretched, then leaned down and grabbed her in-line skates, "I'm gonna go meet Becka and Ami. Meet you at the Land Bridge Park at six, okay?"

"Sure thing." Raven nodded, "Stay close to her, Jen. Robin called and gave me the low down, and you'll have him and Gar nearby at all times, but all the same, stay close."

"She wont leave my sight." Jinx nodded, "Ciao!"

"Later." Raven watched her go, then turned pulled on her sneakers. Walking all over shopping took athletic footwear when you were Raven Roth.

After pulling on her shoes, Raven stood and walked to the dresser where she put her wallet and a few makeup items in her small purse. She picked up the Titan communicator as well, and stared at it for a moment. He'd been on duty last night, so he'd be sleeping now, but... should she? After a moment of internal debate, she flipped open the com unit and punched in a code.

* * *

Speedy groaned and rolled over, blinding groping for his communicator where it sat on the night stand next to the bed he was sleeping on in one of the Towers guest rooms. After a moment, he found it and flipped it open. The light from the screen illuminated the dark room, which was on the interior of the Tower and had no windows.

"What?" he asked in a groggy voice.

_"Hey Roy." _came a meek voice from the other end. Speedy sat up in a heart beat, fully awake.

"Raven! Hey, what's up?" he grinned at her and she smiled back weakly.

_"You've been working out a little." _she admired his chest, then sighed, _"I just... wanted to call and... say hi." _

"Oh. Well, hi!" he grinned again.

_"You know, the other night when I got all pissed off at you-"_

"Don't sweat it, Rae. I was out of line."

_"That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it." _

"Still." he shook his head, "I had no right, and from what I hear, it's thrown you for a loop. I didn't mean to compromise the mission."

_"You didn't. It's under control now." _she looked away from the screen, and a blush colored her cheeks, _"You... wouldn't mind sticking around town for a few days after we're done with this mission, would you?"_

"What for?" he arched an eyebrow.

_"So we can... talk." _

"Talk?" he blinked, "About what?"

_"Us." _

"What 'us?'"

_"Roy..."_

He smiled more gently, "The fact that you're even considering an 'us' is reason enough for me to stay, Raven. I'll be glad to hang out for a few days."

She looked relieved, _"That's good. Thank you."_

"For you?" he winked, "Anything."

_"I'll talk to you later, Roy. I have to go shopping now."_

"Oh, real tough mission." he rolled his eyes.

_"You try it sometime." _Raven grinned back, _"Marathon shopping is not a spectator sport." _

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun."

_"I'll try. Get some sleep."_

"Yeah. Talk to you soon, Rea."

* * *

"Ready?" Ami asked as she and Becka skated in circles around the bench where Jinx was fastening her own skates on. They were all dressed in jeans and t-shirts, with helmets in place and elbow and knee pads strapped on.

"Yup." Jinx stood up and grinned at them, "This is gonna rock."

They were just inside the gates of the school, and Miss Veerlin was standing off to one side, signing out the people that were leaving so she would know who was gone and who was staying. The three girls skated over to her.

"Going for a skate?" Veerlin rolled her eyes, "Try to stay on the sidewalks this time, okay girls?"

Jinx arched an eyebrow at Becka, who winked back, "We sure will." the burnet replied to the teacher with a smile, "No repeats of the last time."

Veerlin shook her head, "How about you just don't get caught this time, and we'll call it good."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about," Jinx said with a grin, "but with me around, we wont get caught." she winked at Veerlin, "Trust me."

"I'll hold you to that. Come back in one piece then." and they were waved off.

As the three girls skated to the gates, Jinx looked over at the other two, "So?"

Ami giggled and spoke up, "We were going too fast, knocked over a fruit stand, and got chased by this crazy Indian guy. We skated into traffic to try and get him off our backs, but he followed us there too, and caught us."

"Bummer. No worries. I'll be able to lose any crazy men that come after us." Jinx sounded confident.

"I hope so..." Becka grinned, "Cause we're goin' downtown, baby!"

* * *

"Where to first?" Raven asked as she, Janice and Hanna walked down the street outside the school.

"The Center Square Mall." Hanna replied firmly, "I need a dress for the dance." she adjusted her t-shirt (it had a picture of Funshine Bear on it), and tugged at the hem of her mid-thigh length black skirt. Her mid-length blonde hair was pulled up in a pony tail behind her head.

"Do you even have a date yet?" Janice asked. She was dressed in a simple violet, tunic style shirt, and flare leg jeans. Her hair was pushed back form her pretty face, and held in place on one side by a flower shaped comb. Raven thought she looked like a hippy.

"No." Hanna shook her head, "But I'm thinking about flying solo anyway."

"Huh. Looks like all of us are going dateless." Janice shot Raven a sidelong glance and a smile, "Unless things are panning out with Will Mathews?"

"Uh..." Raven felt a ting of heat creep up her cheeks, "No." The psion was wearing a black tank-top with a plunging neck line, showing off her ample assets. Over it she wore a simple red jacket, and her jeans had embroidered flames down the sides of her legs. She kept her black hair loose and falling about her face in a pretty manner.

"I see a bluuuush." Hanna sing songed.

"It's nothing." Raven mumbled, and looked away to hide her rosy cheeks.

"Come on..." Janice pounced on her and hugged her from behind, "Spill, or I grope you in public." she continued to walk along behind the black haired Titan with her hands inching up from her mid-drift.

"You _are_ getting bold, aren't you?" Raven sighed, and batted the southern girls hands away as they crept up towards her breasts, "Get off. Sheesh, okay." Letting out a sigh as Janice let go of her, Raven straightened up, "I've been in contact with Roy again."

"The guy you slept with back in Gotham, right?" Hanna arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's, uh... kind of going somewhere. Like... relationship somewhere." she blushed again.

"Oh no... you're not falling in love too are you?" Hanna looked disgusted, "Becka's enough to deal with on a daily basis."

"Oh, no worries there." Raven shook her head with a weak smile, "It's a relationship based on mutual pain and sexual attraction. Not exactly doves and cherubs."

"That sounds..." Janice searched for a word.

"Fucked up?" Hanna supplied.

"Yeah." Janice agreed, "That's fucked up, Cassie."

"Tell me about it." Raven sighed, and they lapsed into companionable silence as they continued to the mall.

* * *

Becka slid on her rear end down the rail of the concrete steps that led down into Green Park, near the center of Jump City. Ami came shortly after her, simply jumping the small flight and landing in a crouch, still skating away. Jinx was last, and she leapt up and positioned her skates on the railing as Becka was jumping off the other side. She slid down as well, grinding the whole way, then jumping off and landing perfectly.

"Woo!" she pumped a fist in the air, "Alright! Let's see if we can find a cute jogger to harass!"

"There's one!" Ami pointed, "Hey! Shirtless too!"

Becka grinned, "This way ladies. We should skate while we're here... Lord knows the cops'll be here quick enough."

"Amen to that." Jinx skated up next to her, then spun around and skated backwards in front of her, "You okay?"

Becka blinked, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I dunno. There was that little thing with a hit man trying to cap you the other night, but I guess that's no big deal..."

The burnet rolled her eyes as Ami skated up next to them, "I'll be fine, Jenny. It was probably a one time thing."

As they flew past a decent sized oak, a green squirrel skittered down and twitched it's nose at them.

* * *

"I think we should keep you away from the black, Cassie." Hanna eyed the dress Raven was holding up over her own form in a critical manner, "It washes you out."

Raven blinked at her, "That's the point."

"To look like a corpse?"

"What part of 'Goth' don't you understand?" Janice asked from the door to the changing room, "What do you think?"

The other two girls turned and looked at her. The gown was long, spaghetti straps holding up the straight, sparkly blue fabric that hugged her curves.

"Too flashy." Hanna remarked.

"Not low cut enough." Raven put in, "You need to show off those great boobs a bit more. All those sweaters you own are a bit too mousy."

"What's wrong with the tunic shirt?" Janice asked with an arched eyebrow.

"It makes you look like a lesbian."

"I am a lesbian."

"But that doesn't mean you have to dress like one." Hanna grinned and shooed her back into the changing room, "Try the darker blue one. It'll go with your eyes better."

"Right, right." Janice chuckled and walked back into the fitting rooms.

Raven watched her go, then turned back to Hanna, "I'm not Goth, really. I'm a pagan, and therefore quite fond of earth tones. Though my favorite color is blue..."

"I'm thinking red for you."

"Red?" Raven wrinkled her nose, "Get out."

"No, really!" Hanna smiled at her, "What about... this one?" she pulled a dress off a rack and showed it to the Titan.

"It's too... hmmm..." Raven looked at it closer, "Maybe if I..." she reached out and took the dress, "You're too damn good at this."

"I know." Hanna smiled weakly, "You think... Roy will be going with you to the dance?"

"What?" Raven laughed a little, "No! Oh, hell no!"

"Why not? I mean, you said earlier that you might be heading for something meaningful, and-"

"Roy Harper is the ward to Oliver Queen. He's a multi-billionaire."

"Holy shit... marrying into money, huh?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Raven looked back at the changing rooms as Janice stepped back out.

"Okay, darker blue." the southern girl smiled, "Good enough for you, Cassie?"

Raven let out a low whistle. The gown was slightly shimmery, and swayed about Janice's well formed body in a seductive manner. The neck line plunged a bit, revealing almost half of her breasts on either side, and gathering in loose folds around her shoulders.

"I'd fuck you." Hanna said.

"Ditto." Raven nodded, "You're damn hot, Jan."

Janice blushed a little, "Stop it. You know I'm a boob girl, and you're both stacked. Don't make me take you up on your offers."

Raven rolled her eyes, "I think Janice has he dress. Hanna, you want to try anything here on?"

"I've got one picked out. Let's get changed so we can see what we look like."

"Alright." and all three of them entered the changing rooms, Janice to change back into her street clothes, and the other two to try on their dresses.

* * *

A man in a business suit checked his watch as he sipped his coffee. The park was a nice place to take his lunch, but it was a decent walk from his building. He had just enough time to get back to the office in time for the meeting and close the deal that would make him millions.

Three female forms blew past him, one of them bumping into him and sloshing his coffee down the front of the Armani he wore.

"Sorry!" the blonde haired skater called over her shoulder at him, then giggled and continued on after her friends.

The man whimpered, looked down at his suit, then at his watch again.

He began to cry.

* * *

"You need to watch where you're going, Jenny." Becka said to her as they skated down the paved walkway that ran through the park, "What if that guy had someplace to be?"

"I said I was sorry." Jinx sounded entirely unrepentant.

"So where to now?" Ami asked.

"Westbrook Mall?" Becka grinned, "We can shop a little, then tear up the courtyard. It's like a skaters wet dream."

"Sweet." Jinx nodded. Raven and the others would be at Westbrook in a little while to do some more shopping. Having all of the girls in one place was safer.

"Let's get to it then. It's a cross town skate." Ami took off, "Last one there is buying lunch!"

"Hey!" Jinx took off after her, "No fair! I'm broke!"

Giggling, Becka followed. She didn't see the shadow move along the edge of the building she skated past as she left the park. She didn't see the other shadow in the ally she flew past in her effort to catch up to her friends.

On a rooftop across the street, with the eyes of his mask narrowed, Robin did.

* * *

"That will be $224.67." the cashier said to Raven as she finished ringing up the dress, the shoes, the jewelry, and the long gloves.

Raven blinked at her. She hadn't realized it was going to be _that_ much. "Um.. yeah. Hold on..." she reached for her purse, only to discover it wasn't there, "Wha... oh shit. Hold on, I think I left my purse over at the changing rooms."

"Okay." the cashier nodded as Raven took off. The black haired girl muttered curses at herself as she stalked back to the changing rooms. How could she have forgotten her purse? True, she wasn't used to having to carry one, but-

She stopped dead when she saw a young man standing by the changing rooms, his short red hair marking him in an instant. Roy Harper turned and regarded her with a curious expression, "Think it looks good?" he motioned to the shirt he was wearing.

"Roy!" she hissed as she stalked forward and grabbed his arm, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Trying on a new shirt." he pointed again, "Why?"

"You can't just... you... jerk!" she glared.

"Look," he smiled down at her, "I'm undercover, okay? Your friends wont notice me, and Dick doesn't even know I'm here."

"Why are you here?"

"I missed you?" he sounded hopeful.

Raven glared for a moment more, than turned and walked back to the main isle. She looked to the left and saw Janice, "Hey, Jan?"

"Yeah?" Janice looked over from where she was inspecting some perfume.

"I found a shirt I want to try on. I'll just be a minute."

"Okay. Hurry up, we need to get over to the Westbrook Mall too."

"Sure." Raven walked back over to Roy, grabbed his arm, and yanked him with her into the changing rooms.

"Uh... Rae..." he chuckled, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Shut up, Roy." she dragged him with her into a stall, then shut and locked the door behind them, "Now hurry up... we have to be quite." and she shrugged out of her jacket.

Roy grinned and unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing.

* * *

"What's taking her so long?" Hanna complained to Janice, "She forgot her purse, then found another shirt to try on, and then what? She's been gone for almost fifteen minutes."

"Maybe I should go check on her." Janice looked back to the changing rooms, just in time to see Raven come strolling back, her purse in hand, "Or maybe not."

"What the hell took so long, Cassie?" Hanna glared.

"I got side tracked. Sorry." As she stepped closer to them, both girls noticed that she was subtly adjusting her bra, and that she looked quite flushed.

"Are you okay?" Janice asked, her eyes narrowing, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look like you just had an orgasm."

"That's ridiculous, Jan. I don't carry a vibrater with me, and it's not like I'd just pick up a random guy and screw him in the changing rooms for crying out loud." Raven cleared her throat. "Sorry." she said to the cashier, "How much was it?"

"$224.67."

"Right." Raven opened her purse and blinked down at it. Sitting on top of everything was a debit card with the name Roy Harper on it. Paper clipped to it was a slip of paper with four numbers on it. Shaking her head with a smile, Raven pulled out the card and handed it to the young woman behind the counter, "It'll be debit."

* * *

Jinx skated along behind her two friends as they chatted about the merits of Chad Doxon. Smiling in a contented fashion, she didn't even notice as a dark form darted out of the ally she was gliding past. The figure grabbed her arm with one hand, and covered her mouth with the other, yanking her into the darkness.

She began to struggle, but a familiar voice hissed in her ear, "It's me, Jinx." Robin said quietly, "Cut it out." He took his hand off her mouth.

"Stop trying to comp a cheep feel and I'll stop thrashing!" she whispered back, "What the hell, Dick?"

_"Robin!"_ he squeezed her arm extra firmly before letting her go, and she winced. It would probably bruise. "Listen, there's six men shadowing you along the rooftops and from the shadows around here."

"And you haven't stopped them why?"

"They're good. I can't do it without drawing attention to you. I'm not sure what they're waiting for, but I'm betting it's for you guys to stop. Whenever you do, make sure it's in an easily defensible position. I'll need you to hold these guys off for a few minutes before we show up. It has to look like we aren't following Pullman."

"Right." Jinx nodded, "You have a spare toy or two that'll help me out?"

Robin sighed, and reached behind himself. Pulling out a small rod, he handed it to her, "Extendable bo staff. Only use it if you have to."

"Will do." Jinx turned away from him, "That all?"

"One more thing."

She turned back, "Yeah?"

"Be careful out there." his voice softened, and he smiled a little smile at her.

"O-okay..." she blinked, "Thanks."

"Get going."

"Alright." she nodded with a small smile of her own, then took off. Robin watched her go, then turned around to head back to the roof tops. He stared when he saw Starfire sitting on a crate down the ally way a little further. She grinned at him.

"Be careful out there?" she quoted.

Robin grumbled, "I just don't want her to get banged up and have to pull her out of the school. Raven can't do this alone."

"Of course."

"What? You think I care about her?"

"I am not jealous if that is what you are insinuating."

"That's not it at all, Kori! You think I think that she... she..." he crossed his arms and glared at her.

Starfire giggled.

* * *

"You okay?" Hanna nudged Raven as the black haired girl was inspecting a lacy looking bra at the Victoria's Secret in Westbrook Mall. Raven glanced over at her with a small smile and nodded.

"I should be asking you that. You... went through a much tougher ordeal than I've ever-"

"Don't." Hanna cut her off with a small frown, "I'm fine. You've been a little flushed since we left Center Square."

Raven blushed, then straightened up and glanced around. Seeing Janice occupied with a sales person, she grabbed Hanna's arm and dragged her over to a display of barely there panties. She grinned over at the blonde, "You know Roy?"

"Speedy, right?"

"Right. He's in town for the protection gig at the school."

"Really? You must be going crazy not being able to see him. You said you two were getting serious?"

"Kinda. Not sure yet." Raven shrugged, "Anyway, he was at Center Square when we were there..."

"Oh no..." Hanna giggled, "You _did_ have an orgasm, didn't you?"

"I'm having sex in more fitting rooms from now on." Raven grinned and nodded.

Hanna gasped, then giggled. Her mirth faded quickly though, and was replaced by a sad smile, "Wish I could... have that."

"Hanna..." Raven suddenly grew serious as well, "What that man did to you... don't take that as what all men will do. There's a great guy out there for you, and-"

"I just don't... want anyone to touch me like that again. Not for a while anyway." she looked away, "I don't want to talk about this."

Raven inspected her friend's profile for a moment, then slowly, she spoke, "Gar said you talked to Starfire a little..."

"She mentioned that she would be willing to talk with about it, but so has everyone else-"

"Star would be better than me, I think." Now it was Raven who looked away.

Hanna's eyes went wide, "Has she...?"

Raven shook her head, "I don't know. She lived as a slave for quite a while when she was younger. For a Princess, it must have been very hard."

"She's a Princess?"

"Of a whole planet." Raven nodded.

"Wow... maybe I should..."

"I think the two of you would get along great." the darker haired girl smiled warmly, "Now let's find Jan."

* * *

"Robin?" Beast Boy held his com unit to his mouth as he spoke, "You see these guys?"

The reply came quickly, _"Yeah. I've got Jinx on the lookout, and she's armed now, but be ready to swoop in on my mark. We have to make it look like we're responding."_

"Alright." he nodded, "You think we should call in Cy or Speedy?"

_"They were both out all night. Let them rest."_

"You sure we can handle these punks on our own? I mean, Jinx can help a little, but Raven wont be able to use her powers at all..."

_"Starfire's with me." _

"Oh." Beast Boy grinned, "Ooookaaaaay."

_"What the hell does that mean?"_

"Nothing."

_"Bullshit, Gar! What the hell are you-" _Beast Boy shut his com with a chuckle.

* * *

Raven arched an eyebrow as she led Hanna and Janice into the open air courtyard of the Westbrook Mall. Jinx had Ami and Becka there, and they were sitting around the modern art sculpture that sat in the center of the yard, chatting.

As the three shoppers walked up, Ami glanced over at them, then grinned, "Vicky's, huh?" she pointed to the bags that all three girls were carrying, "Hot dates all around?"

"I buy all my bras there." Raven rolled her eyes.

"I found some with good support." Hanna smirked evilly at Ami, "Some of us have to worry about that sort of thing."

Ami glanced down at her own small breasts, then around at the other girls, "Hey! All you chicks with big tits went shopping and all of us with average sizes went out skating! We're segregating!"

Jinx rolled her eyes as well, "Speak for yourself. I'm a B cup."

"Me too." Becka stuck her tongue out at Ami, "You're the only one here with tiny boobs, Ami."

"Screw all ya'll." Ami grinned and stretched, "You guys all up for lunch?"

"Sure." Raven nodded, "I saw a great little Tai Cuisine place just over there..." she pointed.

"Sweet!" Becka got to her feet, "Let's-" she was cut off as a Jinx darted in front of her and held out a finger. Spinning around, the pink eyed girl covered her friend's body with her own, and flung the throwing star she'd just caught back the way it came, "Down!" she shouted.

All of the girls dropped, except Raven, who jumped over next to Becka as well, "How many are there?" she demanded of Jinx.

"Six, I think." Jinx responded, her eyes darting around, "Everyone stay calm and stay down!"

Hanna glanced over in a direction that neither Raven or Jinx was looking and saw a tall man wearing a dull yellow body suit, with red stripes running away from his covered face, and all along the length of his body. He wore at least three swords strapped to his back, twin daggers at his sides, and had two tonfa sticks ending in wicked looking blades strapped to his wrists.

And he was marching toward them.

"Cassie!" the blonde shrieked, and Raven looked over. Her violet eyes widened when she saw the man and she leapt in front of her friends.

"You want Becka? You go through me."

"Ra-Cassie!" Jinx stood up as well as five more dark forms dropped to the ground all around them from the roof of the building. They were all dressed as ninjas. "Are you crazy? You can't take these guys!"

"And you can?" Raven yelled back, "We have to hold them off until the cops get here!"

"Oh, we're not waiting for the cops." the yellow and red clad man smirked at them, "We're waiting for the Titans."

"Then you're an idiot." Raven sneered, "The Titans will kick your ass to hell and back."

"I don't think so. Boys! Kill the mark!"

Three of the five ninja's rushed in towards Becka. She screamed as Jinx growled.

"You want this?" the pink eyed girl screamed, "Then come on!" and she hurled herself at the nearest ninja. He drew a sword and chopped at her in an amateurish swing, and she dodged it with insane speedy. She delivered an open handed strike to his jaw, sending him reeling as the next mook came in.

Jinx lashed out past his staff and kicked him in the face.

Raven meanwhile was staring down the ring leader, "Who are you? Why do you want to kill Becka?"

"Because I'm being paid an awful lot of money to do so," he grinned even wider as he raised his arm blades, "And the name is-"

"Shrike!" Robin screamed as he descended from the rooftop as well. He landed in front of Raven and slammed his staff across Shrike's midsection with enough force to blast the man backwards off his feet. Shrike tumbled out of the fall, and came up with his arm blades ready to deflect Robin's next attack. The two bounced back from each other and panted. Robin gave his coldest glare, "Impossible... I watched Shrike die."

Raven gasped at that and took a few steps back. Shrike just grinned again, "So did I, Freddy. So did I."

"No..." Robin breathed, re-gripping his staff even tighter, "Boone..."

"That's right. Boone." the snarled as he darted in, putting Robin on the defensive.

"Old friend of yours, Robin?" Beast Boy asked as he flew dropped to the ground behind Shrike.

"Something like that." Robin grunted as he blocked Shrike's strikes, "Help the girls."

"On it." and Beast Boy morphed into a rhino, charging across the courtyard at the two ninjas that weren't occupied with Jinx at the moment.

Starfire descended as well, raining starbolts around Shrike, and making him back off. "Shall we subdue this man quickly, Robin?" she asked as she powered another blast.

"Don't underestimate him! He's a highly trained killer!" Robin shouted back.

"I do not fear this man!" Star swooped in to strike him, but Shrike just grinned.

"NO!" Robin darted forward, but it was too late. The assassin pulled out a small box and hurled it at Star, catching her in the chest with it. The box exploded on contact and a net burst out of it. A net lined with three pronged fishhooks.

Star fell to the ground with a cry of pain as the hooks worked their way into her flesh.

"Damn you!" Robin was on Shrike again in an instant, and they were exchanging blows once more.

* * *

Across the courtyard, Jinx was putting down her second ninja for good. A swift punch to his neck, then a knee to his face sent him flying several feet and landing on his back. He groaned, but didn't move.

As she whirled around to face the third mook she was fighting, he pulled out a handful of shurikan and hurled them at Becka. Jinx's eyes went wide and she dove in the path of the flying bits of metal, catching three of the four deadly objects. The one that got past her sailed right at the wide eyed Becka's neck-

And slammed into Hanna's shoulder as the blonde dove in front of her friend. She cried out in pain as she slumped into Becka, and the brown haired girl grabbed hold of her, "Hanna! What are you doing?"

"They're trying to kill you..."

"So? I don't want my friends to die because-"

"Waaa!" Beast Boy sailed over their heads and landed in a heap. Hanna's eyes went wide when she saw a slash across his arm, "Gar!" she screamed.

The other three huddled girls all stopped quaking in fear and turned to Hanna. In unison they all said, "Gar?"

Hanna blushed, "Um..."

"You're dead, bitch!" the ninja that had just tossed Beast Boy lunged over Janice and tried to get to Becka. Becka screamed, but was once again saved, this time by Ami, who stood up swiftly and slammed a fist into the ninja while he was in mid-air.

"Get away!" she shouted.

"Ami!" Jinx was grappling with the third ninja she had been fighting before, "Stay down and let Cassie deal with him!"

"What?" Ami gaped at her friend, even as the dark blur that was Raven jumped past her and slammed into the recovering mook.

"I've got this, Ami. Protect Becka." and she flew into a spin, knocking the ninja away with a roundhouse kick.

Robin and Shrike tumbled past them, Robin without his staff, and Shrike without his wrist blades. They struggled on the ground for a moment, then Shrike slammed his forehead into Robin's nose, knocking the Boy Wonder away. "Ha!" he screamed as he pulled out a katana and slashed at his opponent.

An arrow flew from nowhere and knocked the sword from his grasp before he could chop into Robin. Glancing up, he saw Speedy already firing again, and dodged to the side to avoid the small explosion the arrow made. Growling, he dove between where Raven and Jinx were fighting their opponents and grabbed Becka, who was still being clung to by Hanna. Shrike lifted both girls off the ground and dashed away quickly.

"Break off, men!" he shouted over his shoulder.

All the ninjas that were fighting jumped back and hurled smoke bombs at the ground. The others all picked themselves up and followed suit, covering the courtyard with a think smoke screen.

"Raven!" Robin shouted, "Don't let them get away!"

Raven called out, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" and waved an arm. The smoke in the courtyard blew away suddenly, but the ninjas were already gone.

Shrike's voice echoed around them, "I want a rematch Robin. You and me. I'll keep the girls alive until then... for now."

As his laughter faded away, Robin stood where he was an fumed, then whirled about to help his girlfriend out of the net.

"Robin?" Raven took a few steps toward him, "We have to follow-"

"He's gone." Robin snarled back at her, "I know how he operates. He and I... trained together for a time."

"You trained with the League of Assassins?" Jinx asked as she walked over, "Cause these guys definitely did. I recognize the fighting style."

"It was an undercover mission, back when I was in Gotham." Robin began to cut away the netting that was trapping Starfire, and she nodded her thanks, "A mission a lot like the one we just blew."

Raven and Jinx's eyes both popped open and they turned slowly to see Ami and Janice staring at them with equally wide eyes.

"You..." Ami pointed, "You're _Raven?_"

As Speedy dropped to the ground next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, and Beast Boy groaned and sat up, Raven blinked. She looked over at Jinx, and Jinx looked back.

"Fuck." they said in unison.

* * *

Closing Notes: Dun dun DUN! Things just got a whole lot more messed up, eh? Expect a knock out, throw down, beat your face in battle between Robin and Shrike in the next chapter. And hey, what about poor Hanna? Raped, kidnapped, hit with a throwing star... how much more can I abuse this poor kid?

Go now! Review!


	10. On the Razors Edge

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes: Holidays are over, I've kicked the draining illness that's been plaguing me, and finally got around to finishing this chapter. There's a lot of action, and I'm just getting back into this story after finishing GCC, so it took a while. This story will be my focus now, though, and I'll finish this out before starting Jump City Symphony. Look for more frequent updates.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, or Shrike, who is property of DC Comics, and by extension, Warner Bros.

* * *

_**Chapter Eight - On the Razors Edge**_

* * *

"Where are we going?" Janice asked in a fearful voice as Raven led them down the street, away from the Westbrook Mall.

Ami, now skateless, was almost jogging to keep up with the other two girls, since her legs were shorter, "Yeah, Cassie... erm... Raven... uh..."

"My middle name is Cassandra. You can use that if you want." Raven replied in a clipped tone, "And we're going to the corner up there." she pointed to the street corner.

"Why?" Janice sounded fearful, "What's going on?"

"We're meeting Cyborg." Raven replied.

"What for?" Ami was up next to her and grabbed her arm, "Cassie! What the hell is going on?"

"We need to keep the two of you in a safe place while we rescue Becka and Hanna." Raven replied, pulling the red head along with her, "You'll be staying in Titans Tower until we say it's safe."

"What?" both of them burst out. The three of them stopped on the corner, and Raven turned to them.

"You're the ones that wanted to see the Tower up close. Well, you're getting your chance." She turned away just as the blue and silver T-Car pulled up and the door opened.

Cyborg looked out at them, "Need a ride ladies?"

"Can it, Cy." Raven climbed into the front passenger side seat, "Get in." she said to Janice and Ami.

The other two girls jumped in and they were off in a matter of seconds.

* * *

Beast Boy was silent as he and Speedy sat on top of the Mall, and the red haired archer wrapped his arm with a bandage. He looked down at his own green hand and made a fist, then relaxed it. 

"You worried about the blonde girl?" Speedy asked quietly as he tightened down the strip of sterile cloth.

Beast Boy looked up at him, "Hanna?" he nodded, "Yeah."

"You wanna talk about it?"

The changeling sighed, "She was raped less than forty eight hours ago, and now she's wounded, kidnapped, and possibly being tortured." he shook his head, "It's not fair."

"Criminals don't often discriminate. At least she has Becka Pullman with her. Hopefully they'll be able to support each other through this thing."

"I hope so." Beast Boy sighed again, "We're gonna' be benched for this, you know that right?"

Speedy frowned as he finished affixing the bandage, "Why?"

"That dude Shrike." Beast Boy moved his arm around a little, "Robin's gonna be gunning for him solo." Flexing once, he nodded at Speedy, "Thanks."

"Not a problem." the red head frowned deeper, "We should shadow him-"

"He'd know."

"Raven can talk some sense into him-"

"Are we talking about two different people here?" Beast Boy laughed bitterly, "I mean... you know him just as well as I do, right?"

"You know _Robin_." Speedy said, "The Boy Wonder I know best is named Dick Grayson." and he turned and marched off.

Beast Boy watched him go, a firm set about his shoulders, and sighed. "Good luck." he mumbled, then took flight as a hawk with a bandaged wing.

* * *

Jinx stood on a rooftop several blocks away from the mall and stared out over the city with Robin and Starfire next to her. After a few minutes, Robin spoke, "Do you know why I asked you to come with me, Jinx?" 

"Because you wanted a cute blonde _and_ a cute redhead to watch you brood?"

Starfire stifled a laugh, and Robin frowned at her before turning back to Jinx, "Be serious for a moment." he pointed out over the city, "You're a good fighter. A damn good fighter. And as much as I've drilled it into them, you're also better than the rest of the Titans at stealth missions."

Jinx nodded with a light blush, "Yeah, I guess."

"Raven is with the other girls at the moment, but she'll be joining us shortly. Starfire will stay with them, and the three of us will be searching out Shrike and his goons."

"What about the others?"

"Cyborg, Beast Boy and Speedy will be patrolling the perimeter of where ever we track them to, to make sure no one escapes, and Aqualad will be patrolling the rest of the city to make sure nothing else happens."

"I forgot he was even here." Jinx blinked.

"He's been keeping a low profile." Robin nodded, "Are you up to this?"

"I'll need a change of clothes." Jinx pointed to her stocking clad feet, "Climbing buildings wearing inline skates isn't easy, so I ditched them."

"We'll have Raven bring you some gear from the Tower." Robin nodded, "Star, you can head back now, and send Raven over."

"Of course." she floated up then drifted over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him as he tried to pull away quickly. He gave up after a few seconds and let her hold him, "Be careful, Richard. Do not act brashly because an old enemy has come back to haunt you."

Robin sighed, "I'll keep my head, Kori. Thanks."

"I am simply looking out for the one I love. I will see you later tonight?"

He grinned, "Count on it."

"Get out of here, Kori, before you two make me puke." Jinx stuck her tongue out at them.

Star grinned and flew off with a flash of green light. Robin watched her go, then turned back to Jinx with a serious expression, "When we find these bastards, beat them into submission. I don't care how badly you hurt them, as long as they're still alive."

Jinx's grin slipped off and she nodded.

"And Jinx?" Robin said as he turned away and prepared a grappler, "Leave Shrike to me." She just nodded again as he fired off his line and swooped out into the city.

* * *

Raven strode down the hall ways of the Tower just as she used to, the week away barely a memory already. Janice and Ami trailed after her, still asking questions. 

"How are you going to find them?" Ami sounded anxious, and her face held nothing but worry. Janice was walking beside her, wringing her hands and blinking rapidly.

"I'll go to a centralized location in the city and meditate. I'll be able to search out their mental awareness, and locate them that way." Raven replied.

"That's so wild... you're a Titan. I can't believe we didn't recognize you." Ami shook her head.

"It's the charka." Raven noted as she came to the door of her room and opened it, "When I don't have it, it really makes me look different."

"What's a charka?" Janice asked as they stepped into the dark room.

"Whoa." Ami looked around, "Your room is kinda' creepy."

With a start, Raven realized she'd just let them walk into her room as if it was something she did every day. Shaking her head, she made a b-line for her vanity and picked up the blood red jewel that lay there. Quickly re-affixing it to her forehead, she sighed when she felt the focus flooding back into her mind.

"Much better." she turned and regarded her friends as she stripped her jacket off, eyeing them critically, "I'm sorry my room seems so dark. We can open the drapes if you want."

"No, it's okay..." Janice held up a hand, "It's very... you."

"I get that a lot." Raven walked to her closet, "Don't touch any of the spell books."

"Spell books?" Ami blinked. Janice wandered over to Raven's desk and inspected the two photo frames she kept there. One was of the five Titans, all of them sitting on the couch in the living room, smiling at whoever it was that had taken the picture. The other was of three girls wearing bikinis, sunning themselves on top of the Tower.

The first girl was obviously Raven, her pale skin, perpetual frown, and black two piece a dead giveaway. The girl in the middle was smiling brilliantly, her super modal-esque body and barely there violet suit marking her as the Titans red headed alien. The final girl was thin, wore a light blue bikini, and had long, golden blonde hair. She was smiling at the camera in a sad sort of way, like she was tiered and lonely, even though she was sitting with her two friends.

Janice stood up and looked over at the closet as Raven emerged, cloak and leotard in place. She was just finishing pulling on her fingerless gloves when she caught sight of Janice staring at her, "What?"

Janice pointed at the photo, "You keep a picture of the girl that betrayed the Titans?"

"Terra's case is largely misunderstood." Raven replied, "In the end, she saved all of us from Slade's oppression." the dark haired young woman sighed, "We all miss her... very much."

Ami was sitting on Raven's bed, "So what now?" she asked in a small voice.

Raven looked between them, then smiled weakly, "You get the unenviable prize of hanging out with Starfire while we track down Shrike and his gang of mooks. She'll do her best to entertain you."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" Janice stepped forward.

Raven looked at her for a moment, then shook her head, "No. Leave this to the professionals. We'll take care of it."

"So... why were you at the school in the first place?" Ami asked, "I mean, I'm guessing it was to protect Becka, but-"

"There's been death threats. The Senator asked us to step in and prevent them. We obliged."

"Jenny's not a Titan, is she?" Janice sat down next to Ami, and the two of them looked up at Raven.

"Jenny... her name is Jinx. She's from the HIVE. We have her on this case as a means of shortening her jail time."

"Then... you're not sisters."

"We almost are, actually." Raven motioned for them to stand, "Let's go."

* * *

Starfire watched as Raven led the two girls into the main room of Titans Tower and sat them down on the couch. The sorceress talked to them for a moment before walking across the room and into the kitchen, where Star was waiting for her. 

"You seem... quite fond of them." the alien noted with a light smile.

Raven glowered at her, "Why do I get the feeling that Robin set this up from the get-go to be a 'learning experience' for me?"

"It was never his intention," Starfire floated forward and wrapped her arms around Raven, who stiffened instantly, "but it is a most welcome side effect. I am proud of you Raven, for all the growth and progress you have made."

Raven relaxed and hugged her back briefly, then pulled away, "Thanks, Kori." her face turned serious once again, "What are my marching orders?"

"Robin wishes you to bring more combat worthy clothes to Jinx, then seek out Shrike. I am sure he will find you out in the city."

"Alright." Raven turned to head back to her room. She paused as she was about to leave the kitchen, and turned back, "Take care of my friends, Kori. They're pretty shaken up."

The alien girl nodded with a smile, "We shall talk of boys and braiding maneuvers." she replied in a happy tone.

Raven arched an eyebrow, "Maybe not too many boys," she noted, "Janice is a lesbian." she then vanished in a pool of blackness.

Starfire blinked, then floated across the room to where the two girls were seated. She flew over them and came down on the other side of the horse shoe shaped couch, sitting in a pretty manner. She regarded them for a moment, then spoke to Janice, "Please... Raven has mentioned that you are a 'lesbian.' Is this a strange nationality of Earth? And why then would you not wish to discuses human males with me?"

Ami and Janice looked at each other, then back at Starfire. Ami spoke first, "Um... Miss Starfire-"

"Oh, please call me Kori."

"Kori." Ami smiled a little, "On your, erm, planet, do all men and woman... love each other?"

Starfire blinked at her, "I do not understand the question."

Janice tried next, "Let me explain to you in laymen's terms..."

* * *

Where ever Shrike had stashed them, it was dark. 

Becka sat on the cold concrete ground, with her back against a cold concrete wall. Her legs were folded in front of her, and Hanna lay across her lap, her breathing finally returning to normal.

"Becka..." the blonde girl whispered.

"Yeah?" Becka adjusted her limp friend so that she was looking into her face, seeing what little she could from the dim light that came from under a nearby door, which Shrike had locked when he left them.

Hanna had a serious expression on her face, and her brow was beaded with sweat, "My arm... can you help me pull that throwing star out of it?"

"Hanna..." Becka's voice cracked, "I don't know if we should... what if it hit an artery or something, and we pull it out and you bleed to death?" she shook her head, "I know it hurts, but we have to leave it in for now."

"Okay." Hanna closed her eyes, "Seems my whole life has been one big disaster after another lately.

"Tell me about it." Becka squeezed her friends good shoulder, "Why were you so down in the dumps all day yesterday?"

"Don't worry about that..."

"Hanna." Becka held her a little tighter, "We're probably going to die before today is over. Don't throw away your chance to talk this out with someone."

"We wont die." Hanna sounded sure, and her mouth curled into a smile.

"You don't know that." Becka frowned.

"Gar will come for me." Hanna smiled wider and opened her eyes, "I know he will."

"Who's Gar?"

"Beast Boy. And the Titans. They'll save us."

"How do you know Beast Boy's name?" Becka looked confused.

"He told me... told me that's what his friends call him... God, Becka, I'm tiered."

"Don't sleep yet." Becka shook her and the sudden pain in her shoulder made Hanna hiss and open her eyes, "You've lost a bit of blood, and you've been through an awful lot... just... stay awake with me and talk about something... please..."

"Okay." Hanna swallowed hard, "Tell me about JCU. I know you've been looking at going after graduation, and I haven't even started checking around yet. Do they have a very good textiles program?"

"Still dreaming about being a clothes designer?"

"Or a cook." Hanna winked in a painful manner, "You still want to be a lawyer?"

"JCU has a really good law program... second only to Gotham University actually, but you couldn't pay me enough to go to that cesspool of a city... I don't know how Cassie and Jenny were able to live there."

"Cassie... and Jenny..." Hanna swallowed hard again, "Becka... they're not who they say they are."

"What?" Becka blinked.

"Cassie... she's Raven. And Jenny is a reformed HIVE kid named Jinx."

"What? How do you _know_ these things?" Becka looked frightened, "What have you been up to lately?" her face softened, "Hanna... what happened to you the other night when you snuck out?"

Hanna looked up at her friend for a moment, then drew a breath, "I went out to meet a guy..."

* * *

Jinx was standing on top of a building edge, looking out over the Jump City skyline, when Raven descended next to her from the air. "Hey." the blonde haired former villain greeted her friend. 

"I have clothes for you." Raven handed her a bundle of clothing as she swept her cloak out of the way.

"Back in the blue I see." Jinx smiled at her weakly as she accepted the bundle and walked further a little ways from the edge of the building, where she stripped off her shirt and tossed it aside.

"Yeah." Raven watched her not-sister take off the rest of her clothes, "I tried to find something you'd like. Hope it's not too... me."

Jinx tossed aside her bra and picked up the sports bra Raven had brought for her. She inspected it, "Why do you even have a C-cup bra?"

Raven smirked, "It's from when I was fourteen, and I actually wore a bra under my uniform."

"You don't now?" Jinx inspected the rest of the clothes, "All black. Nice."

"Of course I don't wear a bra under this." Raven motioned at her leotard, "It's just not practical, and besides, it makes my boobs look better."

"I'll say." Speedy was suddenly standing right next to her, "Hey, Jinx. How's tricks?"

Jinx, stood on the roof top, wearing only skimpy looking black panties, and stared at the archer. She blinked.

Speedy's eyes traveled down her body and came to rest on her chest, "Nice." he grinned.

He flew back off his feet as Raven's fist and Jinx's foot simultaneously slammed into his face.

* * *

"So you are saying," Starfire tilted her head to one side, "that you find females... sexually attractive?" 

Janice nodded, "That about sums it up."

"Tameranians do not have such customs." Starfire looked at Janice with a mix of awe and delight, "We must breed to ensure the survival of our race, as we are almost constantly at war with some nation or another." Blinking, Starfire leaned forward a little ways, "Please, Janice, tell me... how is it you are able to have sexual relations with another woman? Do you not lack the... er... _equipment _necessary for such an act?"

Janice blinked, "Well... I, uh..." She glanced at Ami, who shrugged and motioned with her hand for the brunet to try to explain as best she could. "Well, one way is to, uh... use toys... like..." a slight smile crept up on her face, "I could always just show you, and then you'd understand completely..."

Ami stood up, "Don't listen to her Kori, Jan is just a horny bitch who'll do any hot chick she can get her hands on."

"I'm not that bad." Janice waved the red head off, "So how about it Kori? Want me to show you what I'm trying to tell you?" her grin turned positively wolfish.

Star blinked, "I do not see a problem with it."

Ami almost laughed, "Janice, I'm not letting you screw Robin's girlfriend."

"Why not? She said it was okay!" Janice started to giggle.

"Ami, why do you prevent me from learning?" Star looked at her with a curious expression.

Ami leaned down and whispered in Starfire's ear for a moment. The alien girl's face became more and more red as the whispering continued, until it almost matched the shade of her hair. "Oh." Starfire uttered, "That would have been... most inappropriate if I had let Janice... _teach_ me." she looked at the lesbian girl and blinked, her blush slowly fading, "Though I am flattered that you would want to."

Ami walked away, "Yeah... you have anything to eat around here? All this worrying about my friends being in mortal danger and explaining the intricacies of lesbian sex is making me hungry."

* * *

Robin stalked the edge of a building, looking about with well trained eyes for clues to Shrike's whereabouts. He was following what seemed like the best path the assassin and his men could have taken, based on the size of their group, the fact that they had two hostages, and the small amount of forensic data he'd been able to scrounge so far. Stopping, he kneeled over a footprint, and nodded. 

"Brand new size eleven stealth combat boot, owner is male, five foot nine, weighs in at one-sixty-five or so." Speedy dropped down next to Robin from the top of a stair well enclosure, "Eh?"

Robin blinked up at him from under his mask, "I'd say closer to five eleven, one-fifty."

Speedy leaned down, "Oh. More weight in the mid section of the foot than I could see from up there."

"Yeah. What do you want?" Robin stood up and walked in the direction the print led him.

"No need to be so hostile Dick-"

"Call me Robin. We're working."

"Robin. Whatever. Just chill for a second man." Robin continued to walk away from him so Speedy jogged over and grabbed his shoulder, "Hey! Stop for a damn second and listen to me!"

Robin whirled around and shoved the archers hand off his shoulder, "Fuck off, Roy!" he shouted, "I know what you're going to say, and I don't care! I'll handle Shrike on my own and... what the hell happened to your face?"

"Uh..." Speedy scratched the light stubble on his chin, and smiled sheepishly. Two purple bruises marred his otherwise handsome features. "I dropped in on the girls while Jinx was changing. They took offence."

Robin stared at him for several seconds, then burst out laughing, "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Speedy folded his arms across his chest, "Now will you listen to me?"

Robin sighed, "Fine. I'll hear you out."

"Okay." Speedy took a breath, "I know you have history with this Shrike guy, and I know you want to take him down yourself." He held up a hand to forestall Robin's interruption, and the Boy Wonder backed off again. "What you've got to take into account though, is that there's the lives of two girls at stake here... two girls who happen to be good friends of Raven's."

"They don't even know who she is, Roy-"

"And yet she still cares for them." Speedy put a hand on Robin's shoulder again, "Look, all I'm getting at is I want to be there with you. Let's do this as a team, Dick. You want your shot at Shrike, fine. We'll give it to you. Just... let us be there to back you up, okay?"

Robin looked up at Speedy, and nodded slowly, "Okay, Roy. You win."

"Good man." Speedy grinned, "Now let's see if we can beat Raven to the punch and find these guys the old fashion way! That print looked like it was going this way..." he walked past Robin and inspected the cityscape before him, "They'd would have had to go left over to that brick building over there... I bet we can find something in all that gravel on the roof top-"

Speedy didn't get to finish his sentence, as Robin's fist slammed into the back of his head, sending him down to the rooftop, and into unconsciousness.

"Sorry, Roy." Robin bent down and lifted the limp form of his friend up. Carrying him back to the rooftop stairwell, he propped the red haired archer up against it, and stood up, "This is something I need to do on my own... it's my mess to clean up, and I wont endanger any of my friends to get the job done." With that, he ran to the edge of the building, and leapt over to the gravel covered rooftop Speedy had been talking about.

What Robin failed to notice was the small green spider that watched him leave.

* * *

After Hanna was done talking, Becka was silent for some time. After several minutes, she spoke up, "Hanna?" 

"Yeah?"

"Beast Boy... he said, 'through a straw' right?"

"Yeah. He said the guy would be drinking his meals through a straw."

"Good." Becka sounded so decisively firm about it that Hanna giggled.

"You're silly, Becka."

"Don't make fun. You were violated in a horrible manner, Hanna, and if Beast Boy hadn't made sure that fucker was good and bloody, I would have had the Secret Service over there in a heart beat to pump him full of lead and make sure he spent the rest of his life in federal prison."

Hanna giggled again, "Like you could."

"If I had a good enough story I could." Becka sounded mutinous, "Now help me think of a way out of here."

Hanna tried to ignore the throbbing of her wounded shoulder, "Well, there's no air vents, the door is locked tight, and the walls are made of concrete. Unless you have plastic explosives hidden away in your panties, we're screwed."

"Damn it all, we can't be helpless. There has to be something we can do."

"We can wait. Gar and the other Titans will find this Shrike asshole, and beat him into a smear."

"Do you think Cassie... uh, I mean, Raven will be with them?"

"I don't see why not. She's a Titan too."

"Good. I have to thank her. Jenny too."

"Jinx."

"Whatever. They're still Cassie and Jenny to me."

"Yeah. That's what I told Cassie too."

More silence ensued, and the two girls huddled closer together, both losing themselves in their own thoughts.

* * *

A lonely wind swept across the rooftops of downtown Jump City, the only sound other than a constant droning voice, chanting a well known mantra over and over again. 

_"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Meterion, Zinthos..." _

Jinx sat a ways away and watched with a light smile on her face as her 'step sister' floated in the air above the rooftop, her eyes close and her legs folded in a meditive position. Her fingertips lightly brushed her temples, and her black hair blew strands of obsidian across her face.

She'd been at it for almost half an hour, and it was starting to wear on her psyche. Sifting through the miasma of thoughts and emotions flowing throughout Jump City and trying to find Becka and Hanna amongst the mess was a daunting task, and one that wasn't undertaken lightly. Still, Raven pressed forward.

It was ten minutes more before she caught the briefest hint of a familiar mind, and five more after that to isolate and fixate on it. Feelings of dread and anger, mixed with hope and love seeped into Raven's mind as if through a very small hole.

"Becka..." she murmured, and opened her eyes to see Jinx sitting up with a hopeful expression on her face. "I found them." Raven floated up higher and turned West, "That way."

Jinx ran to the edge of the building, jumped off, and fired a grappler she'd borrowed from Robin. She swung along to the next building as Raven flew after her.

* * *

Robin's com unit bleeped to life as he inspected a bit of black cloth caught on a TV antenna. He snatched it up and flipped it open in a heart beat, "Talk to me Raven." 

_"Head West of where you are now, then up a ways."_

Robin turned West and looked up. The Stause Corporation's headquarter building loomed tall and strong against the setting sun.

"I'll be on the roof when you get here."

_"Negative, Robin." _Raven replied over the com, _"I think you should wait for backup. These guys are tough."_

"Then you'd better hurry, huh? Robin out." and he flipped the unit shut, cutting off Raven's protests. With a grim look, he fired off a grappler.

* * *

Cyborg was driving to the coordinents Raven had sent him, when a private channle opened on his dashboard. He checked the ID, then responded, "What's up, B?" 

_"Robbie's going off the deep end man. I'm worried about him."_

"Why? What's he doing?"

_"He's all gunning for these punks solo. Speedy tried to talk him out of it, but Robin tricked him and left him out cold on a rooftop. I'm trying to get him to come to now, but he's out like a light man." _

"Shit." Cy put down the gas pedal, "I'll get over to him as soon as I can, man, but he's going to be there a long time before any of us. I'll let Garth know too, so he can get up there an help out."

_"Thanks. Should we call Star in?"_

"No. We don't need that drama."

_"Rodger that. I'll keep working on Speedy, and we'll get there as soon as he wakes up." _

"Alright. Cyborg out." Cy growled low in his throat as he swerved through traffic, "Robin... you idiot."

* * *

One of Shrike's ninja's stood watch outside the stairwell doors on top of the Stause Building. His mask was pulled up to his nose, and he was smoking a cigarette. "Man, I hate guard duty. Boring." 

"Let's make it a bit more exciting then." The ninja whirled around with a throwing star ready to fly, but Robin's foot ended his turn before he could throw the weapon. Dropping down next to the unconscious ninja, the Boy Wonder checked the door to the stairs, finding it unlocked.

He frowned. Shrike was making this too easy. Either he really wanted a re-match, or he wasn't as good as his master had been.

Carefully opening the door, Robin slipped in as silently as a shadow.

* * *

"Say, Kori?" Ami asked around a mouthful of ham sandwich, "Can you tell us a little about Raven?" 

Starfire arched an eyebrow and glanced up from the data file she was perusing on the handheld computer pad she held. Setting the pad aside and leaning back, Star crossed her legs and adopted a thoughtful expression, "What is it you would like to know?"

"Is she really like she's been acting at the school?" Janice asked, a hint of bitterness in her voice, "Or has it all just been her pretending to be our friend?"

Starfire blinked her green eyes and looked over to the brunet, "Why would you think she was attempting to deceive you?"

"Well, all the stories you hear about her say she's this ice queen loner girl that would rather be sitting in a quite corner by herself than hanging out with people her own age." Janice leveled a stare at Starfire, "Usually, rumors have a hint of truth to them."

Star nodded, "Robin would like you. You are very preceptive." Janice blushed with a bashful grin, but motioned for Star to answer anyway. The alien princess smiled at her, "While it is true that Raven enjoys the time she has to herself, she enjoys spending time with others a great deal more. Even when she is meditating, reading a book, or simply drinking a mug of tea, she will sit with us here in the living area of the Tower, even when we are being loud and disruptive. She will quite often sit and listen to us talk and joke, smile when Beast Boy is funny, and roll her eyes when he is not." she giggled, "Raven loves her friends very much, and is very protective of them.

"What you saw of her was a slighting different Raven than we are used to here. She was forced into more social situations, and had to adapt so as not to blow her cover. She was also dealing with living in close contact to another young woman who she never really got along with in the past."

"Jenny." Ami said.

"Yes. We call her Jinx." Starfire nodded, "The two of them... they have become so close in the short time they've been together. Almost as if they really are sisters. I have hopes that Jinx will join the Titans after the mission is over, so that I too may have another sister. While Raven is fine compony, and I can always count on her to talk about 'girl things' with me, Jinx is a far more..."

"Lively person? Cassie acts like a zombie sometimes." Janice smiled weakly.

"Yes." Starfire looked out the windows of the Tower, "This place... is so lonely sometimes without a close female companion. Even though we are no longer on good terms, I miss my sister Komand'r very much. Raven has been the closest thing I've had to a sister for many years now, and for a short time while she was with us, so was Terra."

"I noticed a picture of her in Raven's room too." Janice spoke slowly, afraid to bring up a touchy subject, "Raven said Terra was largely misunderstood. But... she betrayed you. I remember huddling in the dorms inside the school, afraid to even go to class because Slade had his robots blasting at anything that moved outside of a building... you can't tell me you've forgiven all of that."

Starfire smiled at Janice in a sad manner, and it almost broke the two high school girls hearts to see the beautiful, happy alien girl so forlorn, "Terra... was a good person who made some bad decisions. She was a nice girl who was twisted and warped by the will of a madman. Slade is to be blamed for all that she did."

"But-"

"I will not argue with you over this, Janice." Starfire smiled in a friendly manner, "It is in the nature of Tameranians to forgive our friends any wrong doing. If we were to find a way to bring Terra back from her petrified state, I would gladly accept her back into the Titans with open arms."

Janice looked humbled by the benevolence of Starfire. Ami munched on her sandwich in thoughtful silence, and Star picked up her data pad again. Looking out the window, Janice sighed.

* * *

Robin crept along silently between two large generators that supplied emergency power to the building in case of a power outage. He'd gone down three floors already, and had taken out two more ninjas along the way. Shrike was close now though; he could feel it. 

Taking a step around a corner, he quickly ducked back and the peered around from a shadow. Sitting at a table set up in the middle of the air conditioning units were the last two ninjas. Shrike himself stood not far away, sharpening a long katana.

"You think he's gonna show up soon, boss?" one of the lackeys asked.

"He'll be here." Shrike replied, "Tim and Joe will report it if he makes it inside the building."

Robin arched an eyebrow. Did Shrike really think so little of him that he would think his pet ninjas would be able to warn him? Well, that just wouldn't do at all.

Tossing two smoke bombs into the room, Robin followed them in as they exploded. The two ninjas started shouting, but their cries of shock soon turned to grunts of pain. After several seconds the only sound in the room was the AC units running. They vented the smoke out fairly quickly, and when it cleared, Robin stood ten feet from Shrike frowning at him. The two ninjas lay on the ground, out cold.

"You knew I'd make it in here past your guards." Robin accused.

"I wanted this to be just you and me, Freddy. Or whatever your name is."

"My name," the Boy Wonder lunged forward and extended his bo staff, "is Robin!"

* * *

Jinx checked the pulse of the second ninja laying on the floor inside the building. Looking up at Raven she nodded, "He's still alive, but Robin gave him a hell of a concussion. He's not holding back on these guys." 

Raven frowned, "We have to hurry. I sense great amounts of anger up ahead."

"You think they're already fighting?"

"Most likely." Raven floated along, "Keep an eye out anyway."

"Right."

The two of them moved along quickly, but quietly, and eventually came to the open area by the AC units. There, they found Robin and Shrike fighting like rabid dogs.

Shrike drove at Robin with his sword, slashing left, then right, then in an upward slash that had the Boy Wonder jumped away from him. The yellow and red clad assassin finished the combo with a vicious downward chop that Robin was forced to block with his staff. The sword cut right through it, and grazed his chest.

"Nnnggaa!" Robin stumbled back and dropped the part of his staff he was holding in his left hand as his arm went numb.

"Shit." Jinx rushed forward as Shrike spun in for a throat slashing kill. Robin weakly brought the right half of his staff up to defend himself, even as Jinx slid along behind him, under his cape. Coming up in front of the Boy Wonder, the blonde haired former HIVE student flicked open the two bird-a-rangs she's just liberated from his belt and blocked the sword with them.

Robin gasped, then back peeled to catch his breath, "Careful, Jinx!" he shouted, and rolled his shoulder, trying to get feeling back to his arm. Shrike slashed at Jinx again, and she went into a series of defensive maneuvers to keep him from chopping off her head.

Raven, meanwhile, was floating along the edge of the room, away from the fight, and sensing for Becka and Hanna. Stopping at a steel door with no markings, she frowned at tried the knob. Finding it locked, she turned and looked for keys.

They were swinging off Shrike's belt.

"Fuck me." Raven muttered, "Jinx!" I need the keys on his belt!"

"Oh, okay! Let me just naff those over to you!" Jinx blocked another bone jarring slash, and back peeled, "This isn't easy, Rae!"

"Let's see if I can help then!" Robin shouted as he charged in then, sliding along the floor and popping up right next to Shrike, where he delivered a well placed punch to the assassins wrist, making him drop the sword. Jinx took the opening and hurled the 'rangs at him, only to have him duck them at the last second and then twirl into a kick at Robin's head.

Growling, Robin blocked the kick and then he and Shrike started fighting hand to hand in earnest. Jinx just watched for a moment, in awe of the display of fighting prowess. Shaking her head, she looked for her opening, then took it when it came.

Running at the two fighters full tilt, she dove forward and slide along the ground on her side as Shrike over extended a punch at Robin's head. As she slid past him, she grabbed the keys of his belt, spun on her back like a brake dancer, and hurled them at Raven, who caught them with practiced ease. Spinning up, Jinx lashed out with a kick at Shrike, slamming him forward at Robin, who grabbed him and flipped him across the room and into a large alcove in the wall. He charged after his thrown enemy even as the assassin landed and rolled back to his feet.

* * *

Raven quickly turned back to the door and tried four keys before she found the right one. Yanking it open, she looked around inside, and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. There, huddled together on the cold concrete floor, was Becka and Hanna.

"Cassie!" Becka cried as the cloaked girl rushed into the room, "We never lost hope! Oh, God... Raven..." and she burst into tears as Hanna struggled to sit up.

"Cassie... is everything alright? I hear fighting still..." the blonde winced.

"Hold still." Raven ordered, and reached out a hand. A white light glowed around Hanna's shoulder for a moment, then the throwing star fell out, and the wound closed. "It'll be sore for a few days, but most of the damage is healed." Raven picked up the weapon and handed it to Hanna with a wink, "Souvenir."

"Thanks." Hanna smiled weakly and took the shurikin, "What's going on out there?"

"Jenny and Robin are fighting Shrike. It'll be over soon."

"What if he wins?" Becka sniffed, looking frightened.

"He wont." Raven assured her, "But if he did, you wouldn't have to worry." her eyes burned red for a moment from inside her hood, and the other two girls flinched back from her, "I'd tear him apart before he got any where near you."

* * *

Back outside the room, Jinx let Robin have his go at Shrike. They fought inside the cramped alcove, and after a few moments, Shrike slammed Robin into a panel on the wall, and a cage closed over the opening to the area. It was then that Jinx realized it was a fright elevator.

"Robin!" she shouted and ran forward, even as the elevator moved up. Running back to the room where Raven was sitting with the girls, Jinx panted, "They're going up to the roof in a fright elevator! We need to get up there and help!"

"Right." Raven helped Hanna and Becka to stand, "Stay close to me. We have to hurry." They nodded, and together, the four of them dashed to the stairs that would lead them up to the roof.

* * *

The elevator opened up right next to the helipad at the far North side of the roof. As soon as the doors opened, Robin and Shrike tumbled out, each one trying to get their hands around the others throat. After a few minutes of struggle, they broke apart. 

"You've gotten better, Freddy." Shrike sneered at him, "But I've developed a killers insincts. Just like we were taught. You remember that?"

"I'll never be a killer like you, Boone." Robin growled back, and attacked again with a furious series of punches and kicks. Shrike blocked them all, and caught Robin's leg as he dropped to the ground. Twisting sharply, he listened with a grim smile on his face as there was a crack, and Robin howled in pain.

"Oh, did I break your leg?" Shrike tossed Robin to his back and drew a dagger out from a sheath behind on his belt, "Let me make sure you never feel pain again, Freddy."

"I don't think so!" A red blur slammed into Shrike, and the assassin tumbled away from Robin's prone form. Standing there next to him, having just slammed Shrike away, was Speedy. "You okay, Robin?"

"I've been better." Robin winced as he stood up, "Sprained. Not too bad."

"Well then let's take this fucker down."

Robin looked over at Speedy out of the corner of his eye mask, "You were right. I'm sorry I hit you, Roy."

"Don't sweat it." Speedy tensed as Shrike picked himself up and brandished the dagger. Pulling his bow and drawing an arrow, he nodded, "I'll run support."

"Thanks." Robin grimaced as he charged Shrike on his hurt ankle, and blocked the dagger swipe.

"Give it up, Freddy!" Shrike grinned though bloody teeth, "You're hurt, I'm not. You're unarmed, I have a dagger. You're getting weaker, while I'm gaining momentum! I have all the advantages!"

"When are you going to learn, Shrike?" Robin replied, ducking a swipe and jabbing three times at his foes ribs, "Bring all the advantages you want to a fight," he slammed home a hard right, then dove to the side as Shrike left his entire left side open, "and I'll still win! Speedy!"

"Eat taser arrow, bitch!" Speedy shouted as he loosed the shaft. The shot was good, and the aim was right, but neither of the Titans counted on Shrike being able to move so fast. He reached down and grabbed the arrow before it could hit him, spun in a full circle, then hurled it as hard as he could back at Speedy.

The taser charge hit the archer right in the chest, and he jerked for three seconds before falling to the rooftop, his eyes rolling back in his head, and his body smoking.

"Speedy!" Robin shouted, then growled and charged Shrike, "You bastard!" he spit, "If you want to beat on me, that's fine! I'll kick you to hell and back! But when you start messing with my friends...!" Robin pounded a fist into the assassins face, and watched as his jaw snapped loose.

Shrike staggered as Robin continued to pummel him, "Hurts, doesn't it?" the Boy Wonder sneered, "The first Shrike taught us that! Lot's of nerve endings in your jaw... even more in your nose!" and his green glove slammed home, pounding Shrike to his knees and splattering blood across the rooftop. "Who do you think you are?" Robin grabbed him and wrapped an arm around the dazed assassin's neck, "Playing with peoples lives!"

Raven and Jinx came through the door way just then, Becka and Hanna right behind them. They saw Robin, with Shrike's head in the right position. They heard his breath whistle as Robin close off his wind pipe, and tilted his neck down.

"One little twist Boone..." Robin growled out as Shrike choked, "One twist and you'll never bother anyone again..." blood dripped from Robin's lips and nose, and he tightened his grip further and tensed the muscles in his shoulders.

"Aw, God...! Dick, no..." Raven took a step forward and reached out a hand.

Robin's eyes drifted up and met hers. They held the gaze between them for several moments, then Robins sighed and dropped Shrike to the rooftop. The assassin twitched, but stayed down.

"That's the second time," Robin muttered, "that you almost made me a murderer."

Raven walked over to Speedy to make sure he was okay, and Jinx walked over and took Robin's handcuffs to secure Shrike. Becka and Hanna simply stood by and stared at the Boy Wonder, who turned away and stared at the setting sun with a dejected posture.

* * *

Jinx ushered Becka and Hanna into the back seat of the T-Car a half hour later, then leaned down at the window, "I'll see you two back at the school, okay? We'll still be hanging around, even if our cover is blown. We think you can keep the secret." She winked, an the car took off. 

"Man oh man..." Becka leaned back, "What a day."

"I'll say." a green face peered at them from the front seat, "Keep her steady Cy." Beast Boy became a snake, and slithered his way into the back, where he became himself again, sitting between to the two girls. "Hey." he said to Hanna.

Hanna looked at him for a moment, then her bottom lip started to quiver, and she burst into tears. Throwing her arms around his neck, she sobbed into his shoulder, "Oh, Gar! I was so scared!"

"Shhh..." he rubbed her back in a soothing manner, "You're okay now..." Becka touched his arm and smiled at him and he nodded to her. Looking up, he saw Cyborg grinning at him in the rear view mirror.

Beast Boy raised a hand and flipped off the robotic Titan, who chuckled and kept driving.

* * *

Robin was grimacing at his communicator as a paramedic inspected his ankle, "Yes Senator, she's perfectly okay." he listed to the other end for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, she's headed back to the school now. I have two of my team with her and Hanna. Yeah, the blonde one. No, Senator... of course I didn't let this happen just so I could have a fight with a costumed villain. Senator, please, we're doing the best we can, but ten million dollars attracts a lot of very dangerous people. Yes..." he paused and listened some more, "No, Sir, I am not going to quit this mission. My undercover agents can still work at the school, and I'll step up patrol around the school at all times. As of now, the only job the Titans have is protecting your daughter. Yes Sir. Thank you Sir. We'll talk again later. Goodbye." 

Speedy grinned at him from where he leaned against the ambulance, "Why do you get all the fun jobs?"

"Shut up, Speedy." Robin winced again as his ankle was prodded, "Just brace it, man. I'll have my healer take a look at it in a little bit."

"Yes Sir." the paramedic pulled out an air cast and went about putting it on.

"Do you think the League of Assassins is going to send anyone else like Shrike?" Speedy asked.

"Most likely." Robin replied, "The thing with the League is that once one of them takes on a contract, the rest of them will finish it for him if it fails. That's why I'm stepping up the protection."

"Great. How's the progress on tracking down the poster of the reward going?"

"Not well. Cy says at least another four days."

"Shitty."

"Yeah."

Silence followed as the medic finished, then moved off to see to one of the ninjas Robin had beaten up. After a while, Robin spoke up again, "I really am sorry, Speedy."

"I know." Speedy replied, rubbing the back of his head where he'd been hit, "Just... don't ever do it again, okay?"

Robin smirked lightly, "Like you could stop me if I tried."

"Who says I'll give you the chance? I'm never turning my back on you again."

"I'll get you again someday, Harper. You watch."

"Yeah, yeah." Speedy walked over to him and helped him up with a grin, "Let's get back to the Tower."

* * *

Ami and Janice walked down the path that led to the dorms inside the walls of the WJCIE campus in silence. Both were still a little overwhelmed by meeting all the Titans in one day, and from hanging out with Starfire, who had made them listen to the Verse of Lamenting to take their minds off of worrying about their friends. 

All nine hundred seventy seven stanzas.

As the two girls reached the front doors, Becka and Hanna walked up from a different path. "Hey." Becka waved.

"Glad you're still alive and all that." Ami grinned as she and Janice walked over and the four of them stood in a hug for a moment. After a minute, they pulled apart. Ami arched an eyebrow at them, "Where were you?"

"The nurse." Becka replied, "She ran some tests, and gave us a quick once over to look for injuries. We've been talking to cops for the past half hour too."

"Crappy." Janice replied, "When do you get your test results back?"

"After dinner." Hanna replied quietly. She looked subdued.

"What's up?" Ami put an arm around her shoulder.

"She misses her boyfriend." Becka grinned, "Beast Boy."

"Wha?" Ami grinned as well, "Seriously?"

"Not seriously." Hanna rolled her eyes, "Becka's delusional. Come on... let's head up."

The four of them tromped up the stairs to the second floor and walked into the common area, chatting about their various experiences. As they came in, they all froze and stared at the couches.

Raven sat at one end, doing her math homework, and Jinx sat at the other, reading her history text. There was silence in the room for a full minute before Ami spoke up, "Um... what the hell? Raven? Jinx?"

"Cassie." Raven said firmly, then pointed at Jinx, "Jenny. Don't forget."

"But-" Janice started.

"We have to stay close to Becka." Jinx cut her off with a grin, "You're stuck with us for a little longer, ladies. Sorry."

The four second floor girls looked at each other, then all of them grinned, "Nothing to be sorry about." Hanna said and plopped down next to Jinx, "What'cha reading?"

"More Napoleon." Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Need help with that, Cassie?" Ami asked as she walked over.

"Sure." Raven motioned to the book and Ami started reading the problem.

Janice and Becka walked into the room as well and sat down in the chairs, picking up magazines that were sitting out, and flipping them open.

The rest of the night, six perfectly normal girls sat around and acted like teenagers.

* * *

Closing Notes: Everything seems happy, but as we move into the second part of the story, prepare to see a lot more angst, some more hot parties, steamy sexual tension, and laugh out loud humor. If you reviewers are good and play nice, I might even through in a Rae/Speedy Aside for their first date. Peace. 


	11. A Mothers Love

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: This chapter was hard to write, due to the continued abuse of poor, poor Hanna. But now I'm abusing everyone else too. Comic fans look for the names of the 'old crowd.' Also more Jinx back story in this chapter. Have fun reading, and I'll see you at the closing notes.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans and that makes me angry. JAKE ANGRY! JAKE SMASH! GRAAAAA!

* * *

_**Chapter Nine: A Mother's Love**_

* * *

**__**

Ami yawned hugely as she walked out into the common area of the second floor toting her shower basket, a little after 7:00 am on Sunday morning. The excitement from the day before had put them all to sleep by 10:00, so she was up early on the normally lazy weekend day. It'd give her a chance to catch up on some homework though, and to rest after the hectic experience she'd had the day before.

She walked through the common area on the way to the showers, but paused before she reached the door that would take her there. Walking backwards, she went back to the common area, and stared in slack jawed amazement.

Raven floated in the middle of the room, her legs folded in the lotus position, and her hands out to her sides, finger tips pressed together. Her eyes were closed, and her face was free of any emotion.

"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..." the dark haired Titan droned.

Ami stared for another full minute before realizing Raven wasn't going to acknowledge her. She blinked, then continued on to the showers, "Whatever..."

* * *

Mid-afternoon found the six girls gathered at their table in the cafeteria, eating their lunch amidst lively conversation.

"So," Becka pointed at Raven, "Cassie still needs a date-"

"Oh, come on!" Raven rolled her eyes, "I don't need a date, Becka!" she lowered her voice and leaned in, making sure no one around them was listening, "I don't need anything to distract me from the mission, especially now! The Senator is having a fit because we let you get kidnapped! It was only Robin's fast talking, and the fact that we got you back safe that saved us from being fired and having a Secret Service detail assigned to you 24/7!"

"Really?" Becka squeaked, "Oh, gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't realize that you'd gotten in so much trouble!"

"Don't sweat it." Jinx winked, "We're still here, and we're still gonna protect you. No matter what."

"Thanks." Becka smiled in a relived fashion. Then perked up, "Still, a date never hurt anything. You'd blend in better-"

"You're not going to give up are you?" Raven sighed.

"Lay off, Becka." Hanna spoke up, "Raven's already got a man."

"What?" The rest of the girls leaned in and they huddled together, whispering excitedly.

Ami spoke first, "Spill."

"I don't know what she's talking about." Raven tried to look innocent.

"Oh, so you weren't boffing Speedy in the fitting room at the mall?" Hanna grinned.

Janice looked scandalized, "You _did_ have an orgasm before you paid for that dress!"

"You had sex with Speedy again?" Jinx grinned, "And you didn't tell me?"

"Look, it was just... he looked so good right then, and I've been missing him since he got into town..." Raven blushed.

Becka grinned, "Maybe you should bring him to the dance."

"Like I told Hanna before, he's a billionaire's ward. He's cocky, he's brash, and he's famous. The last thing we need is for my identity to get out and for people to trace that back to my boyfriend being the guy I brought to the dance."

"So he _is_ your boyfriend!" Ami looked victorious.

"NO!" Raven scowled, then blushed again, and looked down at the table, "At least not yet..."

Jinx poked her arm, "So that's why you don't want to bring a date to the dance..."

"Maybe."

The girls all giggled, then Janice spoke up, "What about you Hanna? You going to try and find a date or what?"

Raven, Jinx and Becka all winced, and Hanna paled visibly. The blonde girl shook her head, "No. I don't think... I'm going back to the dorm. See ya." And she took off as fast as she could, leaving her tray of half eaten food behind.

"What?" Janice blinked at the other girls, "What'd I say?"

"She'll tell you when she wants to tell you." Becka said in a soft voice, "But... it's... kind of bad."

"Kind of." Raven stood up, "Jenny, stick to Becka. I'm going to try and talk to Hanna."

"Shouldn't we just leave her until she wants to-" Jinx started.

"No." Raven shook her head, "Not with the feelings I'm sensing from her. I'll try, but... I don't know." and she too walked off, leaving her tray of food behind.

There was silence among the four remaining girls for a few moments, then Janice spoke up, "Is Jenny your real name?"

Jinx blinked, "Yeah. Jenny Wrangler."

"And Cassie?" Becka asked.

Jinx shook her head, "Cassandra is her middle name. Her real name is Raven Roth."

"Do you... know much about her?" Janice asked.

"I little. I know she's a half demon, and that her father is called Trigon the Terrible. That should be enough to make you _not_ want to know the rest of the story."

"I'll say." Becka grinned in a weak way, "And I thought my dad was bad for being a politician..."

* * *

Robin sighed and ran a hand over his face. As he did, he peeled off his mask, and set it aside on his desk, which he sat at in his room at Titans Tower. He spoke down at the computer terminal before him, to the frowning visage of a young black girl with her hair up in two pig tails,

"Karen... I know you're having problems out there, but I really need-"

_"Really need nothin' Robin! I've got the Electrocutioner and the Cluemaster breathing down my neck out here! Steel city needs it's Titans, and half my team is on the west coast protecting some senators little girl!"_ Bumble Bee didn't sound happy.

Robin sighed again and rubbed his exposed eyes, "I can send Garth back, but I need Roy here. Please Karen... if not for me, than for him and Raven."

_"Raven?"_ Bumble Bee blinked, _"Dick, what the hell are you talking about?" _

"He and Raven kind of have this... thing going." Robin grinned, "I've never seen Roy turn into such a puddle of goo when he talks about a girl before. It's entertaining as all hell."

_"Harper is mooning over a girl?" _Bumble Bee stared at Robin in open mouthed shock, _"And Raven no less?" _

"I know. Hard to swallow, but I do have reliable intel that they were having sex in a department store fitting room yesterday."

Bee blinked and shut her mouth, _"How the hell do you find out stuff like that?"_

"Great detective skills." He grinned, "Raven told her new school friend Hanna, who told Beast Boy, who accidentally let it slip that he knew in front of Speedy, who I pestered until I got the full story."

_"Oh. Yeah. Great detective. Is that how Batman operates?"_

"No, that's how teenagers work though." Robin grinned wider, "Aqualad will be back in a day. Can I keep Speedy?"

_"For now, yeah. I'll call up the JSA and see if they can't spare someone." _

"Good call. Robin out."

_"I'll talk to you later, Dick. Bee out." _and the screen went blank.

Robin sighed and looked up from the computer. Speedy stood in the doorway of his room with a light smile on his face, "So I'm staying around, huh?" He blinked his naked blue eyes at Robin, his mask absent and slightly sweaty work out clothes draped off his lean frame.

"Until this mission is over anyway. I doubt Karen will let me keep you."

"She might not have a choice if things work out with Raven."

"Yeah." Robin sighed and rubbed his eyes again.

"You need to sleep, man." Speedy pointed at him and walked into the room, where he plopped down on Robin's bed and kicked back, inspecting the random newspaper clippings that littered the walls, "And then you need to get a life. Where's the pictures of your girlfriend?"

"I don't keep any pictures in here. And what I really need," Robin turned back to his computer, "is more back up. If we're losing Garth, then we need someone else to help protect the city while we keep track of Becka Pullman."

Speedy scratched at the light stumble forming on his chin, "What about someone from the old crowd?"

"We haven't really kept in touch." Robin punched up a window that told him the last reported locations of the independent Titans around the globe.

"Wally?" Speedy threw out, "You two used to be tight."

"He stopped by once while we were away to take care of the city here, but other than that, I haven't heard from him in a while.

"Charlie?"

"I think he's on a Thangarian diplomacy mission right now."

"What about Bette?"

"Bette _Kane?"_ Robin looked at Speedy like he was crazy, "No."

Speedy was silent for a moment, then spoke up in a much quieter voice, "Donna?"

Robin growled low in his throat, "Don't go there, Roy."

"Dick, you weren't responsible for-"

"I still could have helped. I was just... I let her down."

"We all did. But Dick, none of us knew then... what she was going through."

"I can't ask her to come here and put herself in danger again just because I'm short on people, Roy." Robin shut down the computer and leaned back in his chair, "That would just make it look like I was using her again. Like... like I..."

Robin trailed off, and Speedy spoke again a moment later, "I loved her too."

"Shut _up_ Roy."

Speedy sat up and glared at Robin, who met his gaze, "_I loved her too_." Steely blue eyes met steely blue eyes and they tried to stare each other down for a moment. Speedy looked away first, "She just... has that effect on people."

Robin sighed and let his head fall into his hands, "Yeah."

There was silence in the room for a solid ten minutes, then Robin spoke up again, "You know how to contact her?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Speedy smiled weakly.

"Could you? Tell her... I'd like to see her again... I'll pay for the plane ticket."

Speedy sat up, "I'll call right away."

* * *

"Hanna?" Raven knocked on the door of the room the blonde shared with Becka, "I can sense you in there, so stop trying to pretend you're not."

A moment later, the door opened and Hanna looked out at Raven. She looked miserable, and she'd been crying, "Sorry. I forgot you can do that."

"Don't worry about it. Hanna... have you thought about my offer? To set you up to talk with Starfire?"

Hanna looked away, "I'm not ready yet."

"Hanna-" Raven started.

_"I'm not ready yet!" _Hanna screamed back at her, then threw a hand over her mouth, "Oh God... Cassie, I didn't mean to shout, I just-"

Raven reached out and pulled the short blonde into a hug. Hanna was shocked for a moment, then nuzzled her face down into the dark haired Titan's neck, and cried. "Shhh..." Raven soothed, "It's going to be okay, you know? You'll live through this, and your friends will be there for you every step of the way." she pulled back and smiled down at her friend, "Cyborg told me about you and Gar, by the way."

"Oh, he didn't!" Hanna blushed, "I was just so scared, and he's been so nice to me, and he's so protective... I just... I needed a hug from a boy I could trust."

Raven smiled in a warm manner, "Garfield is a good guy, Hanna. You can trust him to always do the right thing... even if he's sometimes late about it, or if he makes about a million bad jokes along the way."

"I'll keep that in mind." Hanna smiled back, and they stood in their embrace for another few moments until the door to the stairwell opened. They separated and looked over to see Ms. Veerlin walking up to them.

"Hello girls. Hanna, your test results from yesterday have come in, and the nurse wants you there to go over them with her. Are you okay?"

"Just a little break down. Nothing a friend couldn't handle." Hanna smiled at Raven, who smiled back. "You want to come with me?" Hanna asked Raven.

"Sure. I told you... I'll be there every step of the way with you."

"Thanks." Hanna smiled over at Veerlin, "Lead the way!"

* * *

"Miss Butler?" Janice looked up from where she was chatting with her friends in the cafeteria still, and blinked at Principal Cain.

"Yes'm?" Her southern accent kicked in as she spoke to an authority figure.

"There is a phone call for you in my office. It's your mother."

"Oh... yes. Ah'll be right there."

"See that you are." Cain nodded briskly and walked off.

Janice turned back to her friends, "Ah guess ah'll see ya'll... erm... I'll see all of you later."

"You're so funny, Jan." Becka giggled, and Jinx covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

"You two..." Janice stuck out her tongue and walked off to the Principal's office.

* * *

"Dick?"

Robin looked up from where he was re-stocking his utility belt and saw Speedy standing in his doorway once again. The archer had changed into jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, and his mask was still absent. "Yeah?"

"Donna... wants to talk to you."

"Okay... when is she going to be here?" Robin put down his belt and arched any eyebrow.

"She wants to talk to you _now,_ Dick. She's holding on com line four." Speedy turned away, "I'll, uh... be in my room. See ya." and he was gone.

Robin sighed and turned to his computer. He punched in a code and opened up an audio only link to com line four. He listened to the sound of regular breathing for a moment before he spoke in a soft voice, "Hello, Donna."

_"Dick?" _her voice sounded just like it had when he had seen her last, five years before, _"Oh, man! It's so good to hear from you again!"_

"Donna... I don't know what Roy told you-"

_"He told me you need help. And he told me that you miss me." _her voice sounded mischievous.

"I don't want this to seem like a call out of the blue to have you come back to active duty and-"

_"Can we talk face to face, Dick? I have video on this end." _

Robin was slightly surprised, but he punched up a video window as well and blinked at her. She looked exactly like she had, only her hair was longer, and she wore it loose around her face, rather then pulled back into a high pony tail.

"Where are you that you have video?" he asked.

_"Home."_ she blinked, _"I live in a penthouse with Diana in Gateway City." _

"You're living with _Wonder Woman_?" Robin's mouth dropped open, "What about Terry? What about... Robert?"

Donna looked away from the screen, and he thought he saw a tear glisten at the corner of her eye, _"Terry... left me. He filed for divorce and received full custody of Robert." _

_"What?"_ Robin's mouth fell open, "But... Donna... how could any man be stupid enough to leave you?"

She looked back at him with a watery smile, _"That's sweet Dick. Thanks." _

Robin blushed, "Donna... why?"

_"Terry thought it would be safer for Robert if he were to not live with me. I tried to retire, but I still had enemies, Dick. They... put my family at risk. I agreed to all of Terry's terms."_

"But... that's..." Robin sat back, "I feel extra horrible now."

_"Don't."_ she replied, _"Dick, you use people."_ He sat up and stared at her with a hurt expression on his face. She rolled her eyes, _"I'm not afraid to tell you, Dick. You used me years ago to accomplish your crime fighting goals, and you use your team now the same way. But we all go along with it." _

"Why?" Robin leaned forward with his face in his hands, "Why do you want to help me, even after I let you down so badly back then?"

_"Because we go along with you for your sake... and for our own. You seem to be quite adept at drawing that reaction out of people." _

"Damnit, Donna... You've always been so... wise."

_"It's an Amazonian thing. Diana does it too." _

"I don't want to use you again..."

_"Ah, yes... The alien they call Starfire has had a positive effect on you I hear."_

Robin groaned, "You talked to Roy for a long time, didn't you?"

She nodded happily, _"Almost an hour. I can't wait to meet her."_

"So you are coming?"

_"I'll be there by the end of the day." _

"Heh..." Robin looked up at her again, "Wonder Girl is coming to town, eh?"

_"No..." _Donna smiled, _"From now on, you can call me Troia."_

* * *

Hanna sat on a table in the examination room of the school's rather state of the art medical facility. The 'nurse', an MD by the name of Doctor Sarah Billini walked in briskly, only arching an eyebrow at the fact that Raven was there as well. She closed the door behind her.

"Miss Trestel. Miss Roth." she nodded to both of them and took a seat next to the counter top on the opposite side of the room from Hanna. She made a few more notes in the folder she carried with her, then set it aside and faced the two girls.

"So what's the verdict, Doc?" Hanna sighed in a dramatic fashion, "Am I gonna make it?"

Doctor Billini frowned at her, "When we got you back here and Miss Roth made her report to me about what had happened," she paused at Hanna's incredulous look, "Don't be so surprised Miss Trestel. Someone inside the school needed to know of the Titans presence. It made sense that that person be the only fully qualified medical professional on campus, in case they needed treatment at any point." She cleared her throat and continued, "When I received you here, I ran a full gambit of tests to ensure that you hadn't been harmed in any way that Miss Roth or the other Titans hadn't known about. As you had been in the presence of six males no older then twenty-two, I ran rape kits on both you and Miss Pullman." Hanna paled and the Doctor leaned forward, "Is there anything you need to tell me, Miss Trestel?"

Hanna stuttered, shut her mouth, opened it again, and looked at Raven like a lost puppy. Raven nodded to her and turned back to the Doctor, "Doctor Billini... Hanna wasn't raped by any of the six men who kidnapped her."

"That's odd. My tests clearly show-"

"She was raped a few days before when she snuck off school grounds and met a man who drugged her and took advantage of her." Hanna closed her eyes and let tears fall silently from her tightly shut lids.

Doctor Billini frowned deeply and sat back up, "Miss Roth... why wasn't this reported? How do you know?"

"One of the other Titans already took care of the offender, and it wasn't reported to the school because Hanna didn't want it to be reported to the school."

"Raven!" Doctor Billini sounded shocked and angry, "I thought you off all people would know that these kinds of incidents should be reported to the proper athorities as soon as-"

"Doctor Billini," Raven cut her off, "With all due respect... do you honestly think that the Titans report all of there activities to the police? Do you think we operate with only their consent?" When no response was forthcoming, Raven continued, "We are a vigilante team of super heroes that makes our own choices, and works outside of the law on many occasions. Hanna didn't want it reported, so I didn't report it. That's my prerogative."

"Well, your prerogative has cost Miss Trestel a great deal of her life, Miss Roth." Doctor Billini turned to the young blonde woman, "Hanna, you're pregnant. You're going to have a baby."

Raven's eyes widened, and she looked over at Hanna, who was staring in dumbfounded shock at the Doctor. She blinked once, looked over at Raven, then promptly passed out.

* * *

Janice sat in a comfy leather arm chair in Principle Cain's office and smiled at the administrator as she backed out of the room. Cain didn't smile back, but nodded. Once the doors were shut, Janice picked up the phone next to her and dialed up line one.

"Mama?" she asked into the receiver.

_"Jan, baby? How ya doin' out there on the west coast?"_

"I'm just fine, Mama... Ah had a little adventure yesterday... the Teen Titans saved my life from a band of ninjas."

There was a gasp from the other end of the line, and Mrs. Butler sounded shocked beyond belief, _"Ma land, child, are you alright?" _

"Ah'm fine, Mama... not a scratch on me..."

_"Don't scare your mama like that, child! Land 'o goshen..." _

"Ah'm sorry Mama. Wha'd ya call for anyway?"

_"Oh, Jan baby... you know... you're Daddy and I have been havin' some troubles lately..."_

"Yeah, Mama, I know. How's the couclin' goin'?"

_"It... it's not, Baby. Your Daddy and I... we're gonna divorce."_

Janice blinked and her mouth fell open, "What?"

_"We're gonna split up, Jan. Ah know it's hard on you, but you have to understand..."_

"But ya'll were doin' so well when Ah left last summer! You were talkin' 'bout vacation in Miami and-"

_"We just have our differences, Jan." _Mrs. Butler sounded sad, _"We loved each other very much when we met, and up until recently, we've just been foolin' ourselves into believin' that we still were... Jan, sometimes love fades... we'll always be friends, your Daddy and Ah, but... we wouldn't be fair to ourselves if we didn't give each other another shot at findin' a special someone who we love..."_

"But..." Janice felt tears stinging at her eyes, "What about me, huh? Where do Ah fit in to this?"

_"Jan, you'll be graduatin' in just a few months, then you'll be off and goin' to collage to get that MD before you know it... you'll hardly be home anyway..." _

"Mama!" Janice cried, letting the tears fall without bothering to wipe them away, "Ah don't want... can't ya'll just..."

_"I'm sorry, Jan. We've made up our minds. Ah can tell you need ta' think on this a bit now, so... I'll talk to ya' later Baby."_

"Mama!"

_"G'bye, Jan. Mama and Daddy both love you very much." _

"MAMA!" Janice screamed into the phone, but the line was already dead. The dark haired young woman slowly hung up the phone, then curled into a ball on the seat of the chair and cried.

* * *

Hanna came to very slowly. She found herself covered in a blanket, and laying on the examination bed of the medical center. The curtain was drawn around her, and she could hear voices from beyond it, talking in hushed whispers.

"... don't think that would be a good idea..." That was Cassie.

"Still, it's an option that should be explored." And that was Doctor Billini

"Hanna will never want an abortion, Doctor."

Hanna froze. She suddenly recalled a horrible dream in which she'd been told that Brad had gotten her pregnant. This must still be the same nightmare. She willed herself to wake up, but the only thing that happened was that Cassie and Doctor Billini continued to have their frighteningly real sounding conversation.

"She doesn't have to let this ruin her whole life." Doctor Billini said, "She could give the baby up for adoption. She would still be able to live the rest of her youth out as a normal girl-"

"Doctor, I don't think Hanna would be able to live with herself knowing that she'd given up a child for someone else to raise."

"What makes you such an expert on Miss Trestel, Raven? You've only known her for what? Two weeks?"

"I'm an empath, Doctor. I can sense her feelings and some basic thoughts... and I know... _I know_... Hanna will want to keep this baby."

At that exact moment, Hanna realized she wasn't dreaming, she was pregnant with her rapists child, and that her life as she knew it was over.

She screamed.

* * *

Becka looked up at the clock on the wall of the common room and frowned, "Where are they?" she asked of Ami and Jinx, who were sitting with her. They were all engaged in various homework assignments, though Jinx was doing more doodling then homework.

"Maybe they decided to get desert?" Ami sounded hopeful. Jinx and Becka both looked at her funny, and she shrugged.

The door to the stairwell opened, and all three of them craned their necks over the back of the couch to see who had just come in. Janice stared back at them, her face streaked with tear tracks.

"Jan?" Ami jumped up, "What's wrong? Is your mom okay?"

"Ah'm... fine." Janice shook her head, "Ah'm gonna' go on ta' bed now. Ya'll have a nice night." and she walked slowly past Ami and down to the room they shared, shutting the door behind her. Ami looked over at her friends.

"She doesn't revert back to heavy southern accent unless she's really upset." she told them. "I'm going to go see if I can get some more out of her. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Give her our support." Becka nodded.

"And give her a hug from all of us." Jinx winked, "But not _too_ friendly a hug."

Ami snorted out a small laugh, then she too disappeared into her room.

"So..." Becka looked over at the door, "Where's Hanna and Cassie?"

On cue, the door opened again and Raven came in, leading a rather dead looking Hanna. She looked up at the two girls who were staring at her with wide eyes and shook her head, motioning to Hanna and then shooing them away.

Jinx and Becka shied away to the other side of the common room and Raven led Hanna past them, down to her room and walked her inside. Ten minutes passed before the black haired Titan came back out. She walked over to the two confused looking girls and sat down on the couch.

"What's wrong with her?" Jinx asked, sitting down as well. Becka followed suit. Raven took a deep breath, then let it out.

"She's pregnant."

There was silence for a solid minute, then Becka breathed out, "No... was it... that guy?"

"Yeah. Yeah it is."

Jinx stood up, "Excuse me. I've got to go to the hospital Gar put him in and kill him now."

"Sit down, Jinx." Raven ordered. Jinx glared for a second, then sat down. Raven rubbed her eyes, "It took me ten minutes back at the medical office to calm her down. Eventually I just had to absorb her fear and sadness."

"You _what_?" Becka's mouth fell open.

"I can kind of be like an emotional vampire..." Raven shook her head, "I sucked out her negative feelings and left her an emotional zombie for a little while. She'll do better coping with this if we're all here to help."

"That might not be happening any time soon." Becka frowned, "Janice just got back from a phone call with her mother and she'd been crying, and then ran right to her room. Ami's trying to talk to her now, but..." she trailed off.

"Mmm..." Raven nodded, "I can feel her sorrow from here. She's... very upset."

Jinx sighed, "What now?"

"We keep protecting Becka. That's our job here, and that's what we'll do."

"But..." Becka looked lost, "My friends are going through so much right now... how can you just sit back and let them suffer while I'm walking around without a care in the world?"

"Your friends don't have ten million dollar bounties on their heads." Jinx said and pinned Becka with a pink eyed glare, "We'll do what we can for them, but you come first. Keeping you alive is more important than helping them work out their problems."

"I never thought I'd be saying this," Raven shook her head, "but Jenny is right, Becka. Help your friends, but don't do anything to put yourself in any more danger than you're already in."

Becka nodded miserably, then stood up, "I'm going to go be with Hanna. See you two in the morning."

As soon as she shut the door to her room, both Raven and Jinx sagged in their seats, "This sucks." Jinx said.

"Tell me about it. Robin is calling in more help, but we can't slack off in our duty. The heavy hitters are going to come out now, and we have to be ready for them."

"Not to mention the League Of Assassins will be gunning for Becka full tilt now that Shrike is behind bars."

"Yeah." Raven sighed, "I hope that help Robin called in is something really hardcore."

* * *

Robin stared up at the night sky from the top of Titans Tower, counting the stars. He sighed as he heard the sound of feet touching the roof top behind him, and the swish of a short skirt, "Hello, Kori."

"Richard... why are you so melancholy? Speedy will not say what it was you were doing this afternoon that made you so sad." The red haired alien stepped up next to him and placed a hand on his arm. She smiled at him weakly, "I am worried for you, Lover."

"I'm fine, Kori. Just... I called an old friend for help, and it turns out... her life has become... really sad. And I feel like if I'd just kept in touch... if I hadn't screwed things up and ignored what she was going through back then, before the Titans... she'd have a better existence now." He sighed, "I don't know what I'm talking about."

"This old friend... who is she?" Starfire tilted her head to one side and gave him a wondering expression.

"She used to be the teenage sidekick to the Amazonian Princess Diana... Wonder Woman to you. She was called Wonder Girl."

"And now?"

"Now... she's not Wonder Girl any more. She quit hero work to be with her husband and newborn child shortly after she turned eighteen, but..."

_"But things didn't work out like I thought they would."_ Both Titans looked up to see a dark form decending from the sky. A moment later, a young woman landed before them lightly, a gentle smile on her face. She wore a full body jumpsuit that shown like the night sky, covered in sparkling stars. Her sliver boots matched her sliver bracers, which matched the silver pendent swinging from around her neck. As she dropped her worn looking brown travel back pack to the rooftop, she brushed her long black hair from her face. "Hi." she said.

"Hi." Robin replied, and smiled at her, "You look good."

"You too." Troia turned to Starfire and smiled wider, "You must be Starfire. I'm Troia."

Star zoomed over to her in a green blur and smiled like a super nova, "Hello Troia! You may call me Koriand'r, or simply Kori as the rest of the Titans do. How was your journey? Will you staying long? Would you like to be my friend?"

Troia looked slightly taken aback, but smiled through her confusion anyway. Robin grinned as she spoke to Starfire, "If I'm to call you Kori, you may call me Donna. My trip was fine, though I haven't flown so far in quite some time, I'll be staying as long as Dick needs me, and of course I'd love to be your friend."

Hello new friend!" Starfire squealed, and grabbed Troia in a bone crushing hug. The dark haired young woman gasped and looked over at Robin with shock on her face. "My! You're certainly strong!"

"Oh!" Starfire set her down and stepped back sheepishly, "I am sorry! I constantly forget that earthlings are much more fragile than they look."

"Don't worry... I'm not like most humans." Troia smiled at her, "Roy tells me that you and Richard are something of an item..."

Star blushed, "Yes... Richard and I have been 'official' for almost a week now. Before that however... we were simply..."

"Pining away for each other." Robin stepped up next to her and kissed her cheek lightly.

Troia grinned, "I remember when you thought girls had cooties."

Robin groaned, "Please don't start telling stories about me from when I was twelve, Donna."

"Very well." she smiled, "I am here now, Richard. What would you have me do?"

"Take the rest of the night off. You've flown a long ways. I'll put you on the day shift with Beast Boy and Starfire starting tomorrow."

"Very well. Perhaps Kori and I can spend some time tonight getting to know one another better." Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

Robin frowned, "Be good." he warned, then flipped pulled out a communicator and handed it to her, "This will be yours while you're with the Titans."

"Heh. I remember a time when I _was_ a Titan." she smiled warmly, "Thank you, Dick. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah. See you then." Robin dropped a final kiss on Starfire's lips, then dashed to the edge of the roof, which he jumped off of, firing a grappler to the edge of it to slow his decent to the ground.

"So," Donna turned from where Robin had just vanished and smiled at Starfire, "have you slept with him yet?"

Star smiled back, "Of course. Richard is a wonderful Lover."

"I wouldn't know. He's more like a little brother to me."

"Truly? How much older than us are you?"

"Four years." Troia picked up her bag, "Can you show me where I'll be staying?"

"Of course." Star lifted off the ground and started floating along. Shrugging, Troia rose off the ground as well, and drifted after her.

* * *

Beast Boy paused his video game as his communicator started bleeping. He pulled it out of a pocket and flipped it open, "Yo." he said.

_"Garfield." _It was Raven. He sat up.

"Yeah? What's up Rae?"

"_I need you to do me a favor." _

"Alright. What can I do for you?" he arched an eyebrow.

_"Do you know what hospital Hanna's rapist is in?"_

"Yeah... is she okay?"

"_No." _Raven shook her head, _"No, she's not Gar. This is what I need you to do..." _

* * *

Jinx was a light sleeper by necessity. One didn't sleep like a log at the HIVE and escape with one's hair still on one's head. She had trained herself from a rather young age to wake up at the slightest noise.

So it was that she woke up, but didn't move when she heard the light sound of someone wearing sneakers walking past her. She quickly realized that she must have fallen asleep in the common room, as she was still laying on the couch, with the TV muted and playing infomercials.

Glancing over the couch to see who had made the noise, she saw Hanna quietly opening the door to the stairs and slipping through. She was still wearing the skirt and blouse from her uniform, and she looked quite determined.

Jinx looked down at her own clothes. She wore a thin white t-shirt, and a pair of loose fitting jeans. She made up her mind quickly and jumped off the couch. Pulling on a pair of shoes (Janice's actually, but they wore the same size, and they were handy) that were sitting next to the book case, she dashed over to the door Hanna had just gone out and slipped through as well, silent as a shadow.

* * *

Speedy glanced over as Robin dropped to the rooftop next to him and crouched low. He looked back out over the school grounds from the top of the apartment building across from the girls dorms and let out a breath, "How's Donna?"

"She looks good."

"She's always looked good. She was hot when she was sixteen... I bet she's a babe now."

"I meant she looked healthy." Robin shoved him.

"So did I." Speedy grinned back.

Robin shook his head, "She and Star are chatting. They seem to like each other well enough."

"They're both friendly people. Both caring, and compassionate."

"You sound like you're ready to ask Donna out now that Terry's out of the picture."

"Naw." Speedy shook his head, "I like my woman dark, brooding, and emotionally handicapped. It helps if they're half demon too."

"You're weird."

"I'm weird? You're the one that ran around with a guy dressed up like a bat for three years."

"And you ran around with a man dressed as Robin Hood."

Speedy stared at him for a second, then shrugged, "Point."

"Anything yet tonight?"

"All's quiet on the Western Front."

"Great book." Robin nodded.

Speedy glanced at him, "I thought that was a movie."

"The movie was based on the book."

"You're shitting me. That was too good a movie to have been a book at some point."

"It still is a book, you idiot. How do you expect to date Raven if you don't read?"

"I'll woo her with my charm and ability to hit _all_ her targets, bull's-eye, every time." he winked.

Robin rolled his eyes under his mask, "I'm going to see how Cy's doing, then I'm going to station myself on the north side of campus. Keep a sharp eye out."

"Will do." Speedy chuckled as Robin fired off a grappler and swooped away, muttering something about idiots and over-sexed red heads.

* * *

Ami lay on her bed, holding Janice's head against her chest, letting the dark haired girl cry into her chest, "It's going to be okay, Jan. I know it hurts, but... well, look how I turned out! My parents were divorced three years ago, and I'm fine!"

"Ami... I'm sorry I can't stop crying..."

"Janice, when I came in here and started sobbing all over you three years ago because my parents were splitting up, you held me all night, and you didn't even try to grope me." Janice giggled into Ami's shoulder, "The least I can do is return the favor."

Janice sat up a little and smiled at her, "I'll let you grope me if you want."

"Would that make you feel better?" Ami grinned, "Do you want to have sex with me?"

"Don't joke about that. You're the only girl with small boobs that I'm attracted to, and I'll jump you in a second if you let me."

"Well..." Ami blushed a little, "if it really will make you feel better..."

Janice stared at her for a second, then hugged her, "It's okay, Ami. I know you, and you're straight. Don't go thinking that if you try it once you'll like it... trust me, you should stick with boys."

"Anything else I can do for you?"

"Sure." Janice slid off the bed and down to the floor, "I could really use one of those great shoulder rubs you give..."

"With pleasure." Ami scooted over, "Now, vent. Tell me what you think about all of this. It'll help, trust me."

"Okay." As Ami started rubbing her shoulders, Janice took a breath, then started venting.

* * *

Jinx stalked Hanna to the cafeteria, through the unlocked back door into the kitchen, and then to the food preparation area. There she hid in the shadows as the petite blonde girl pulled a long filet knife from the block it was stored in, then went back the way she came. Jinx waited for her to pass by the shadows she was hiding in, then moved back out to continue stalking her.

She followed Hanna across the school grounds, all the way to the gym locker rooms at the back of Westpost Hall. Jinx watched her walk inside, then glanced around and dashed to the entrance. She frowned when she heard a shower start running, and moved further inside.

* * *

Brad Wessmen woke up suddenly in the darkness of his hospital room. He felt something tickling his face, and tried to scream when he realized it was a tarantula.

Unfortunately, his jaw was still wired shut from the reconstructive surgery.

The large spider jumped away from him and became the dark form of a green skinned young man a moment later. Brad whimpered.

"Remember me, Brad?" Beast Boy leaned over him, and Brad realized then that he'd been strapped down to his bed, "Boy have I got bad news for you."

Brad whimpered again and peed himself. Beast Boy frowned at him, "You'd better get control of that, and get a good job when you get out of here... you see, that seventeen year old girl you raped, Hanna... you remember her don't you? She was... what was it you said? Oh yeah..." he leaned in close and bared sharp fangs, "ripe..."

Brad's eyes rolled in fear and her tried to say something.

"I know, I know. You're very sorry. Problem is, Brad, you got her pregnant." Beast Boy grabbed hold of Brad's arm and squeezed where he knew there was a fractured bone. Brad groaned and tried to scream, but couldn't, "You're going to giver her half of your paycheck for the next eighteen years, Brad. You understand that? If you miss one week... _one week Brad_... I'll come back for you. And next time... I wont go so easy on you."

Brad panted with fear as he watched Beast Boy step back into the shadows and vanish from sight, "I'll be watching Brad... don't fuck this up."

Brad Wessmen breathed hard and twitched. He fell asleep soon after, but woke up a changed man.

* * *

Hanna watched the water from the shower heat up until steam rose into the air. She kicked off her shoes and stepped into the puddles forming on the tile, then knelt down in the spray, still fully clothed. Her white blouse soaked through in an instant, and she looked down at the lacy white bra she'd bought at Victoria's Secret just the day before with Cassie and Janice.

Frowning, she pulled her shirt up and shoved the top of her skirt down so she had a good view of her own abdomen. She let the burning hot water pelt down on her as she chose her spot, then lifted the filet knife above her head.

"I wont let you ruin my life." she whispered, and stabbed down with the knife at her own womb.

There was a shout as she lowered the knife, and she was surprised when she felt warm blood splattering her stomach, but no pain at all. Opening eyes she hadn't realized she'd shut she stared in horror at the sight before her.

Jinx knelt in the spray next to her, her hand out stretched and holding the knife at bay. The blade was sticking all the way through her palm and out the back of her hand, and the pink eyed girl's face was screwed up in pain as she wrestled the knife away from her friend.

Hanna chocked on a sob as Jinx's blood splattered down to the floor and washed away into the drain. She shoved herself away from the former HIVE student and stared in shock at the girl before her. Soaking blonde hair hung about her face and a grimace of pain marred her pretty features. Her white shirt was soaked though, revealing her lack of bra, and her hand dripped huge globs of blood onto the floor of the shower.

"Hanna..." Jinx gasped out, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Hanna's face hardened, "Why wont you let me get rid of this thing?" she screamed, and ran for the locker room doors, and out into the gym area.

"Hanna!" Jinx cried out as she pulled the full length of the knife back out through her hand and tossed it away with a scream of pain.

Hanna slipped across the gym floor, soaking wet and collapsed to the ground next to the weight benches. She quickly picked up a twenty pound free weight and lifted it above her head. She screamed in pain as she slammed it home into her own gut, but lifted it above her head again any way.

Jinx was there again a half second later, and Hanna wasn't able to slow the weight down as the pink eyed girl threw herself across her friends lap. The twenty pounds of steel slammed into Jinx's back, right into her kidney, and she screamed, then coughed up blood.

Hanna cried and screamed, and slammed Jinx with the weight again. Jinx just curled up around her and held her tightly. She spoke in a weak voice, "Hanna... stop this..."

"No!" Hanna screamed back and dropped the weight, then shoved Jinx off of her. The other girl got to her knees, blood dribbling down her chin as Hanna raved at her, "This... _thing_ will ruin my life! I never wanted Brad to rape me! I never wanted to be the girl that this kind of shit happens to! _This child is nothing but a curse to me!_"

Hanna flew back and slammed into a weight bench as Jinx's fist plowed into her face. The small blonde girl looked up in terror as Jinx towered over her, rage and anger splayed across her face, "You... fucking... selfish... BITCH!" Jinx screamed at her, "If your child could hear you and understand you... if she could hear you say those words..." Jinx yanked on her own collar and tore her shirt half way down the front, exposing her chest, and a long, thin scar that ran from her collar bone down to the top of her left breast, "_Those exact words that my mother said to me just before she stabbed a fucking dagger into my chest!" _

Hanna stared up at her in horror, then slowly, slowly, her face crumbled and she crawled forward. Jinx collapsed to her knees and held open her arms, letting Hanna crawl into them and sob, "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Jenny... I never meant it... I don't... I don't know what to _do_..."

"Yes you do." Jinx stroked her back. "Listen. My mother was raped by some guy and she had me as a result." Hanna stiffened in her arms, and Jinx held her tighter, "I couldn't really control my metehuman powers back then, so bad luck kind of followed me everywhere. My mother... she tried to kill me, thinking I was a demon or something. I ran away, that damn dagger still in my chest, and I was picked up by the HIVE. I was almost dead when they found me blowing up fire hydrants with my out of control powers." Jinx let Hanna go and the other blonde girl sat back and listened as Jinx went on.

"I trained long and hard, and when I was fourteen, I left the HIVE for a personal mission. I went home, to have my vengeance on my mother. I went home with a solid control over my powers, and a .38 caliber revolver in my pocket." Hanna gasped, but Jinx just laughed a hollow laugh, "You know what I found when I got there? My mother had married some jerk... this guy beat her and abused her... and eventually, he'd hit her too hard. I found her body in the basement of his house, being eaten by rats and roaches." Hanna made a sick noise, but Jinx pinned her with such a glare that she couldn't even think of throwing up. "You know what I did then, Hanna?" the blonde shook her head, "I cried. I shooed all the vermin from my dead mother's body, I held her head in my arms, and I cried. I cried because even though she'd never wanted me, and even though she'd tried to kill me..." Jinx's eyes softened and tears leaked out. She whispered, "She was still my mother. She was still the one who'd given me life."

"Jenny... I'm so... so sorry..."

"Don't be. I walked upstairs after I was done crying, and I put six slugs into that fat bastards skull. Then I burned that house to the ground, and went back to the HIVE."

Hanna was silent for a long time, then she looked up at Jinx, "You're right... this baby... I need to have this baby... and I need to give it a good home..."

"And we'll help you... all of us..." Jinx swayed, "I'm loosing a lot of blood."

"Shit... here..." Hanna tore a strip of her own shirt off, and wrapped Jinx's hand with it, "We need to get you to Cassie so she can heal you up..."

"Yeah..." Jinx let Hanna help her up, then they stumbled out of the gym and into the cool night air.

* * *

The two staggering girls had barely made it to the dorm before a dark figure melted out of the shadow, "Jinx? What the hell happened to you? Why aren't you..." Robin trailed off, seeing her injuries and state of undress. He looked at Hanna with a hard gaze, "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but if you've compromised this mission in any way-"

"Shut up, Robin." Jinx stood up straight, "She's fine. I'm fine. There's quite a bit of my blood all over the gym though, so you'll want to clean that up before morning."

"Great." Robin mumbled, "Fine. I'll get it done. Have Raven heal you, then make a full report to Cyborg. I'll have him debrief me in the morning."

"Yeah. Okay." Jinx nodded.

"Go on." Robin waved them off.

The two girls hobbled up the stairs and into the dorm. Robin sighed, then started off for the gym.

* * *

A half hour later, Hanna sat on Jinx's bed, watching as Raven meditated over the hole in Jinx's hand. The wound was closing slowly, but Raven looked like she was putting a lot of effort into healing it.

"Does it still hurt?" Hanna asked. Jinx looked up from where she and Raven were seated on the floor between their beds.

"Not really. Itches like hell though."

"I'm really sorry, Jenny."

"As long as you learned your lesson..." Raven murmured.

"It was all worth it." Jinx nodded.

"Still..." Hanna was silent again for a long time, until Raven was done healing Jinx's hand.

"I'll have to leave the bruised ribs until tomorrow night..." Raven winced as she sat back, "Repairing all those tendons right took a lot out of me."

"Whatever." Jinx shrugged, then helped Raven to her feet, "I have to report to Vic. Mind if I borrow your com?"

"Go ahead." Raven pulled the unit out of her pocked and handed it to Jinx, who nodded to Hanna with a small smile, then ducked out of the room. Raven stared at Hanna as well, then went over and sat with her. "I told you... we'd always be there for you Hanna. No matter what."

"You were right. Thanks, Cassie." Hanna reached over and grasped her hand, "I think..."

"Yes?" Raven arched an eyebrow as Hanna hesitated.

Eventually, the blonde girl smiled through her teary eyes, "I think I'd like you to call Starfire for me... I think it's time I talked to someone about this..."

Raven nodded, "Kori will be good for you to talk to... especially now."

"Why?" Hanna looked curious as she wiped away her tears.

"You'll see." Raven smiled slightly, "Now let's get you to bed."

* * *

In a dark, one person room on the first floor of the girls dorms, Rose Wilson flew up out of her bed, grasping at the air and panting for breath. She took a moment to center herself, then looked up at the broadsword hanging on her wall.

"One week from today..." she whispered, "All hell will break loose... and he'll be there... he'll be there..."

* * *

Closing notes: Heh... and Aqualad gets screwed out of _any_ screen time at all. He never even had a single line. Say hello to Donna Troy however, and watch for her to take on an active role in coming chapters. Name all the Titans Dick and Roy were talking about before they decided to call Donna in your review and get a cookie. 


	12. More Than Just Words

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening Notes: I've mentioned before in my other stories that sometimes there comes a chapter that's necessary filler. This chapter is so fluffy you could stuff a six foot teddy bear with it. It's the slowing down from all the action and revelations and horrors of the last few chapters. Basically, these girls needed a freakin' break. It's still funny in a few places, and there's some nice charecter development, but don't go into this chapter expecting another throw down, knock out fight between Robin and some super villian or another, and don't expect poor, poor Hanna to suffer any more than she already has. It's still a good bit of writing, even if it is kind of slow. Read on, and enjoy.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

_**Chapter Ten: More than just words**_

* * *

**__**

Janice opened her eyes, then shut them again, blinking against the bright sunlight pouring into the room. She moaned a little and tried to get up, but found something holding her down.

Craning her neck around, she looked up into the peacefully slumbering face of Ami. They lay in the red head's bed, the sheets pulled up around them, and she was laying in her friends embrace. Janice smiled softly and lay her head back down on Ami's petite breasts, savoring the warm feeling of the girl she'd long considered to be her sister.

Looking to the nightstand, she saw the clock and noted it was ten after nine. Snuggling Ami, she closed her eyes and prepared to go back to sleep.

Less then thirty seconds later, she wrenched herself up out of Ami's arms, startling the red haired girl awake. Looking out the window in shock, Janice shouted, "Shit! It's Monday!"

* * *

Hanna was sitting in the common room, gazing at the book in her lap, but not really reading it when Ami and Janice came pelting down the hallway, both dressed in little more than their underwear and bath robes. They stopped when they saw her and she looked up at them with wide eyes.

"You two didn't... I thought you weren't gay, Ami..."

Ami blushed and Janice giggled. As the red head's face quickly began to match her hair, Janice spoke up, "No... we just talked last night. What are you doing here? Classes started hours ago."  
"Veerlin gave us the day off. Said we should take it to finish recovering." Hanna shrugged.

"Oh... where is everyone?" Ami was regaining control of herself and she arched an eyebrow at the blonde.

Hanna ticked off on her fingers, "Jenny went with Becka as protection detail to get some food, you two are here, I'm here, and Cassie-"

"Is right here." Raven walked down the hall, her T-Comp in one hand, "Come on, Hanna. It's time."

"Okay." Hanna stood up and waked over to the Titan. She paused as she reached Raven and glanced back over her shoulder, biting her lip. Ami and Janice blinked back at her.

Turning back to Raven, Hanna whispered, "Tell them for me?"

Raven frowned, "I really think you should do it yourself-"

"Cassie... please?" Hanna gripped her arm.

Raven sighed, "Okay. I'll do it when I get back."

"Do what?" Janice asked, walking over, "What's going on?"

"Hanna's going to be gone for most of today." Raven replied, "I'll be back in a half hour to explain everything."

"Okay... be safe, okay?" Ami hugged Hanna, and Janice wrapped her arms around Raven. The dark haired sorceress fought back a smile.

"You can let go any time, Jan." Janice drew back with a sly grin and winked at Raven, who rolled her eyes, "Gawd... I'll pick you up a Playboy while I'm out..."

"You're not old enough." Ami pointed out.

"Actually, I'm eighteen." Raven replied with a grin, "Ha. Youngins."

"No wonder you wanted to do the strip club idea." Janice thought about that for a second, "Not that I would have minded, I guess-"

Hanna rolled her own eyes, "Leaving now..." she sounded exasperated.

"Right." Raven raised her hands up, and blackness surrounded the two of them, taking on the form of a dark bird of prey, which flew up through the ceiling a moment later.

"That's creepy." Ami said, staring at the point they had vanished into.

"Yeah... hey, want me to wash your back in the shower?" Janice grinned at her roommate.

Ami sighed and they started down to the showers, "Sure. But _only_ my back, not my ass. And use your goddamn _hands_ this time, Jan..."

* * *

Becka sat at the table in the cafeteria she usually sat at, joined only by Jinx, who was eating pancakes by the plateful. She watched the blonde haired metehuman for a moment, then sighed and looked down at the table.

"What's up?" Jinx asked, gulping down some juice.

"Nothing..." Becka waved a hand, "It's just... Jan is all upset about something, Hanna's life is going down the tubes, I have ten million dollars on my head, and you and Cassie have to follow me everywhere just to make sure I stay alive." she put her head down on the table, "This semester is supposed to be the best one of our whole high school career, and it just... sucks."

"Yeah, I know." Jinx frowned, "But chin up, girl. Whatever's bugging Jan, Ami will help her through it, Hanna's got good friends, including two super powered ass kickers to help her, plus she's got Beast Boy to care for her. You... you're going to be fine. Don't worry about Cassie and I... it's no chore to look out for you."

"I know it'll all turn out okay with the Titans on the case, but..." Becka looked up at Jinx, "Hanna... God, how are we going to help her?"

"We provide support, in as many ways as we can." Jinx shrugged, "Even if I go back to prison after this gig is over, I'll still be ready to help when I get out."

Becka looked shocked, "After all this... you might go back to prison?"  
"Yeah." Jinx grinned, "Though my sentence would be reduced from twenty-five to life to something more reasonable... like five or ten years."

"But... you could be paroled still, right?"

"If Cassie has any say in it, yeah, maybe."

"Man... I'll do whatever I can for you too."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a few more moments, then Jinx stretched her arms above her head, "You want to see Chad today?"

Becka smiled at her weakly, "Sure, but he's in class."

"Lunch is soon. I'll see what I can do about making myself scarce for a little while so the two of you can hang out."

"But...don't you need to protect me?"

Jinx smiled and shook her head, "I'll be close by, and Beast Boy will be keeping an eye on you. Not to mention Starfire and whatever other help Robin rounded up."

"Really?" Becka looked hopeful, "Thanks, Jenny... I miss him a lot."

"Work out the details for the dance while he's here. It's only a week away now you know." Jinx grinned, "I'll fish for a date while you're not around."

* * *

Starfire looked up as Hanna staggered into the living room section of the main floor of Titans Tower. The blonde looked dazed, and she shivered as she caught sight of Star and trotted over.

"Raven teleported you?" Star asked in a sympathetic manner.

"Yeah... it was so cold, and dark... I felt like I would never be happy again..." Hanna shivered again and Star rubbed her arms to help her get feeling back in them.

"It has always been that way. Raven's soul self absorbs your emotions when you are engulfed in it, and the between she takes you to is a very cold place."

"I noticed. Oh! You have bagels!"

As they sat down, Starfire motioned to the food on the coffee table and the juice that sat nearby, "Please, help yourself. Where is Raven though, if I may ask?"

"She uh..." Hanna blushed, "She went to see Roy."

"Oh." Star nodded, then her eyes widened and she drew in a gasp of breath, _"Oh..."_

Hanna nodded and spread more cream cheese on her breakfast.

* * *

Beast Boy yawned and scratched his ear as the lunch bell rang and students started filing towards the cafeteria. From his high vantage in a pine tree near the building it was housed in, he was able to see who was going in, and who was coming out. Jinx and Becka had been in the building all morning.

His T-Comp vibrated in his pocket suddenly, causing him to jump. He pulled it out and flipped it open, "Beast Boy here."

"Hello, Beast Boy." he blinked down at the image of a beautiful black haired woman, smiling at him in a friendly manner, "I am Troia."

"Troia... oh yeah! Robin told me you'd be on the job with me..." he trailed off, "He just didn't say you'd be so hot."

"Well thank you." She grinned wider.

"Eep!" Beast Boy slapped a hand over his mouth, "Did I just say that out loud?"

"You did, but don't worry. I'll take it as a complement."

"Um... cool. What'd you need?"

"Just to check in, as Robin instructed. Are you near the cafeteria?"

"In the pine tree to the west of it, actually."

"Very good. I am atop Westpost Hall, and have a good view of the doors. I have not seen Miss Pullman, or Jennifer yet."

"Knowing Jinx, they're probably waiting for the boys."

Troia giggled, and Beast Boy grinned.

* * *

Speedy felt warm hands press down on his chest and he woke up instantly. Years of training had honed his reflexes, and he had his own hands on his attackers shoulders in less than a second.

"Hmm..." Raven's voice came to his ears in the darkness of his room, "I don't know if I like playing rough like this..."

"Rae... you scared the shit out of me." he relaxed and let go of her, letting her hands rub his bare chest before the weight of her body pressed down on him. She was straddling his waist.

"I just came by to say hi before I have to head back to the school." her hands brushed at his short hair, then a lingering kiss fell on his cheek.

"Can't say I'm disappointed."

"You want to go out tomorrow?" she whispered.

"What?" he wasn't quite sure if he had heard her right.

"I said," Raven cleared her throat and spoke a little louder, nervousness evident in her voice, "do you want to... go out on a date tomorrow?"

"Definitely... but what about the mission-"

"I'll clear it with Robin. And it'll only be a few hours in the early evening anyway."

"Only a few hours?"

He could imagine her rolling her eyes at him, "We can have a longer date when this mission is over."

"So now I get two dates?"

"You're incorrigible."

"I try." Speedy grinned until he felt her lips press against his. They kissed for several minutes, then she pulled away and stood up off of him.

"I'll call you later with the details. Bye for now."

"Yeah." he said to the darkness in a dazed manner, "See ya." The room grew colder for a moment, and then there was silence, and he knew she's just teleported away.

"God... damn..." Speedy lifted his sheets and poked down below his waist, "Calm down Roy..."

* * *

Jinx was nodding with a dead smile on her face as she listened to the fourth boy she had chosen as a prospective date to the dance blither on about his trust fund and the brand new Skyline his father was buying for him once he graduated with at least a 2.0 GPA. They sat in the court yard of the cafeteria, surrounded by other students.

She kind of wanted to strangle him.

Looking away from him in a bored manner, she scanned the crowd of lunch goers and saw Becka, cuddled up on Chad Doxon's lap, giggling about something he had said. His hand rested on her rear end, but she didn't really seem to mind all that much.

"I miss Vic." Jinx said aloud.

"Who?" Trust Fund Boy looked a little miffed at being interrupted.

"An old boyfriend. Tall, built, smart, funny, and uh... oh yeah, not an annoying prat who doesn't realize that no one gives two shits how much money he's going to have when he turns twenty-one." she flipped her hair, "Go find some gold digging floozy if that's all you can talk about. I'm interested in a real man."

Trust-Fund-Boy's jaw dropped as Jinx walked away from him primly. She spotted Maggie Delmont sketching in a drawing pad under the large oak off to the side of the building, and trotted over, plopping down where she could have a good view of Becka.

"Hey." Maggie said, and continued drawing.

"How's tricks?" Jinx spotted Rose sitting by herself at an outdoor table, reading a book. She arched an eyebrow as a young man walked over, sat down, and started talking to the fair haired girl.

"Oh, you know... got my dress this weekend, but no attacks by ninjas or anything." Maggie grinned at her.

Jinx groaned, "You heard about that?"

"The whole school knows you guys got to meet the Titans. There's rumors flying around that you kicked some major ass yourself though..."

"I kept one guy away for like, ten seconds before Robin trashed him." Jinx rolled her eyes, grinning inwardly at the lie, "It was scary, and I had way too much of that kind of shit back in Gotham."

"I keep forgetting that you and Cassie used to live in one of the scariest cities in the world. And you went to public school there?"

"Yeah." Jinx nodded, then smirked, "Oh no. Watch this." she pointed to where the young man was still talking to Rose.

The white haired girl suddenly slammed her book shut and stood up abruptly. She spoke in a loud, ringing voice, so everyone in the courtyard could hear, "No, Mr. Rivers, I do not wish to 'take a taste of your lollipop' or go to the dance with you. If you're looking for a girl who'll take you up on your offer of 'free cream filling' I suggest you begin your search with Miss Hamilton. I hear she's quite proficient at coaxing said filling out." and she stopped away.

Ginger Hamilton watched her go with her mouth hanging open, then her face turned red, and she too fled the courtyard amidst cat calls and jeers.

"Poor Ginger... she's just been picking on the wrong people lately." Maggie smirked and shook her head.

"What'd she do to Rose?"

"Asked about her family. When Rose refused to answer any of her questions, Ginger went off about low class nobodies and penniless bums."

"Because if she doesn't want to talk about it, she must be poor... right." Jinx rolled her eyes, "Bitch."

"She used to be so nice when we first started... guess everything went to her head after awhile."

Jinx spotted Becka saying goodbye to Chad, and stood up, "I've got to run. Becka and I are going to catch up on some homework we didn't do this weekend."

"Sure." Maggie smiled up at her, "See you at dinner?"

"We'll be there." Jinx winked, and took off to meet her friend before she got too far away.

* * *

Starfire sat down her cup of juice and stared intently at Hanna for several minutes before the blonde girl sighed and put down her breakfast as well. She turned towards Star and smiled weakly, "I don't know why I'm putting off talking to you like I came here for... I'm just... scared."

"I know how you feel." Star smiled at her in a sad manner, "I was terribly frightened to tell anyone of the treatment I endured while I was a slave. It took a great deal of courage to finally open up to Raven."

"She said she didn't know much about it..." Hanna fidgeted nervously.

"She does not. I spared her the details, but I have told her that I was beaten severally, and on a three separate occasions, I was molested. What I did not tell her is that one of those times I was also raped for several hours by my Masters son."

Hanna gasped and covered her mouth, "Oh God... Star... I'm sorry I made you talk about it, I-"

"Hanna... you have nothing to be ashamed of. My past is my past. I deal with it. You are here today for me to help _you_ deal with _your_ experience." Star floated up off the sofa and landed next to Hanna on the other side of the coffee table. She sat down and put an arm around the smaller blonde girl, "Tell me of it... tell me all of it."

"I... I'm scared... and I'm so, so worried that you'll... think less of me."

"I will think no less of a wonderful girl who has been such a great friend to Raven. She is like a sister to me, Hanna, and I trust her judgment of people above all others."

Hanna nodded and wiped away her tears before they really had a chance to form, "Alright... well, it started when I snuck out to meet Brad... I'd met him the weekend before when we were out drinking..."

* * *

Janice was flipping through a photo album as she sat in the common room, a sad smile on her face. She stared at a picture of herself, her mother and her father, all sitting together under the willow tree in the backyard of their southern home, eating a picnic lunch.

Flipping the page, she fought back tears as she saw a picture of her mother and father renewing their wedding vows after fifteen years of marriage.

"Oh Mama... what went so wrong?" she whispered, swiping at the tears.

"Why are you so sad, Janice?"

Janice jumped and let out a short scream as Raven's voice sounded almost right in her ear. She turned around with a racing heart and glared at the black haired Titan, "Lands sakes alive, Cassie! Ya' tryin' ta' give a girl a heart attack or what?"

Raven smiled down at her, "You," she said with a serious voice, "have the cutest accent in the world."

Janice blushed, "Stop hitting on me!"

"Okay, okay..." Raven walked around the couch and sat down next to her, "But seriously... what made you so upset yesterday?"

"Oh... my parents are getting a divorce."

Raven nodded, "Bummer."

"Mama says they just fell out of love or something like that, but... I just don't believe they can't work it out."

"Sometimes these things happen, Jan. I know it seems hard, but you have to accept that your parents might be doing this for the good of the family. Splitting before they begin to resent one another."

"I guess..." Janice sat up and put the album aside, "Tell me about your parents."

Raven looked at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly, "My mother started life as Angela Roth. She ran away from her abusive home when she was seventeen, and fell in with a cult of devil worshipers. Turns out they were the real deal, and on the night of her official acceptance into the Church, she was the Summoner." Raven paused, making sure Janice was following, then continued, "The entity she summoned was Trigon the Terrible, the Eighth Demon. He raped her, impregnated her, and receded into his hellish domain." Janice's mouth dropped open.

"So... your father... is a demon?"

"Yeah. My mother fled the Church that night, and was taken in shortly after by a group of peaceful monks from the dimension of Azarath. She was renamed Arella, and had me nine months later. I was raised in Azarath to never feel anything, as it would give Trigon a better chance of entering the world through me. My soul-self... that's the black energy you see me use, is more than just a manifestation of my powers. It's a portal to Hell it's self, and if I grow too emotional, Trigon could use it to come through."

"My God... that's... terrible."

"Azarath was destroyed by Trigon just before I left, and Arella perished with it. My only family now..." Raven smiled, "are the Titans."

"Wow." Ami said from where she stood in the hallway a little ways away, "That's one fucked up story."

Raven nodded and motioned her into the room, "Come sit down. I have something to tell you two."

"About Hanna." Janice said. Raven nodded.

As Ami seated herself, Raven started, "The other night, she went out and met a boy... things... didn't turn out well for her."

"Oh no... did he... do anything?" Ami looked frightened.

Raven nodded sadly, "He drugged her, raped her, and left her in an ally way." Ami and Janice both gasped and covered their mouths. Raven continued, "We can thank Jenny for having the presence of mind to have Beast Boy follow her, and he was able to pick her up from the ally and not have her wake up all alone. I wont go into detail about how he handled the situation after that, but I can tell you now," she looked triumphantly grim, "what he did to that man... wasn't pretty."

"Fuck yes." Ami nodded, "That's good to hear. So no cops?"

"No cops. The guy is in the hospital for the next month or three though."

Janice looked grim as well, "There's more, isn't there? She was really nervous this morning."

"Yeah..." Raven closed her eyes, "She's pregnant."

Silence rang about the room, and after several seconds, Ami spoke up again, "Fuck."

"Double fuck." Janice rubbed her eyes, "And I thought _I_ had problems."

"She's at Titans Tower now, talking to Starfire, who has... experience in these matters." Ami looked like she wanted to ask a question, but Raven just shook her head, "I'm not telling her story for her. If you can get up the courage to ask Starfire about her past, you go right ahead."

"No thanks." Ami shrunk back, "So... what are we doing about this situation?"  
"Well, I'm personally going to see about securing some financial assistance for her," Raven said, "And we'll all give her moral and emotional support."

"Yeah." the other two girls said in unison. Quiet descended again, and they sat that way for several minutes. The silence was broken in the way that it usually was on the second floor.

By Jinx.

The door banged open and Jinx and Becka walked in, arguing, "You _so_ want to jump his bones." Jinx said.

"I do not! I want to go slow!" Becka replied.

"So his hands all over you ass is slow?"

"Groping is not sex..." Becka winked.

Jinx rolled her eyes, then saw the group in the common area, "Whoa... serious shit going on here."

"I told them about Hanna." Raven replied.

"Oh." Becka stepped forward, "Look, I've been thinking about it... Hanna's going to need us all, and I think... well, she's probably going to go to JCU with me next fall, and I'd like it if the both of you would think about going too."

Janice and Ami looked at each other, then smiled. Janice spoke up, "They have one of the best pre-med programs in the country, Becka. Of course I'm going here."

"I was gonna' stick with my friends anyway." Ami said, "Besides, I can save Jan from having an annoying roommate this way!"

"Who says you're not an annoying roommate now?" Janice arched an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, but I'm a _sexy_ annoying roommate that let's you wash her naked ass in the shower."

"You said no ass this morning!"

"Didn't stop you though, did it?"

"This conversation just flew off into the realm of too much information." Jinx stated, "Hey, Cassie... think I can sneak off tomorrow night and see if Cy is around? I need to ask him something."

"Sorry, but no." Raven smiled, "You'll be on duty alone tomorrow night."

"Aw! Why?"

"Because," Raven's grin grew wider, "I have a date."

* * *

Starfire was holding Hanna's hand and rubbing her back in a soothing manner as the blonde girl finished her story. Hanna leaned into her and cried, letting all of the pain and sorrow she'd been repressing out in the company of another woman who knew how she felt.

"There is more you are not telling me, Hanna." Starfire said in a gentle tone.

"Raven told you already, didn't she?" Hanna sniffed and sat up off of Starfire, "I'm going to have that sick bastards baby... Jenny convinced me to keep it, but... oh, Kori... I just don't know what to do any more..."

"One of the many differences that human and Tameranian cultures posses is our views on childbirth." Starfire took on an educational air, "On my world, pregnancy and childbirth are held in an almost sacred light. We praise X'hal in our loudest voices, and rejoice for several days when a woman is found to be with child. Whether there is a mate for that woman or not, the child it's self is a wonderful gift from the Great Mother, and we always celebrate it."

"X'hal... you've used that word several times now."

"The Great Mother is the Goddess of the stars... the first Tameranian that gave all of us life, and continues to ensure the survival of our civilization to this day."

"On Earth, when a woman doesn't want her child... oh, I see." Hanna nodded and brushed away her tears, "Your people _always_ want their children, if they can afford them or not."

Starfire smiled, "We do not possess the system of capitalism that you do on this planet. All of us share equally... even the royalty."

"That sounds nice. But Kori... what do I do about a baby I can't afford? I mean, I still want to go to collage, and have a life... not sit at home all day raising a child-"

"You wont have to." both girls heads spun around to the rooms entrance where Robin stood in the elevator. He was wearing a simple white shirt, and black sweat pants. His feet were bare, and his hair looked messy from sleep. The only part of him that remained Robin, was his eye mask.

"Late night?" Hanna arched an eyebrow over her puffy red eyes.

"I was watching out for your friend all night, and cleaning up _your_ mess in the gym. Jinx got blood _everywhere._"

Starfire gasped, and looked over at Hanna, "Raven told me you had tried to abort the child yourself, and that Jinx stopped you, but... was she hurt badly?"

"Don't worry about her, Kori." Robin walked into the room and frowned at Hanna, "She did what she had to." Hanna shrunk back from his gaze. Star looked between them for a moment, the scowled at her boyfriend.

"Richard! Do not glare at Hanna so! She has had a very trying morning!"

"Kori!" Robin hissed at her as Hanna's eyes went wide, "Do _not_ use my name around civilians!"

"Eep!" Starfire covered her own mouth, then mumbled through her fingers, "I am sorry!"

"Richard?" Hanna grinned slyly, "Can I call you Dick?"

Robin threw up his hands, "For the love of Christ! Sure! Why not? Everyone else does." He started to walk away, then stopped and looked over his shoulder, "I'm going to see about getting you into a financial aid program that helps rape victims raise children that come about because of the attack. We'll need to go through some legal channels, and we'll need to confirm that your rapist is the father, but I can do all of that on the down low so we don't need to report the crime. Beast Boy already punished him enough, after all."

Hanna's mouth dropped open, "You'd do all that for me?"

"No," Robin frowned at her, "I don't like how you keep distracting my team from doing their jobs." Hanna cast her eyes down at the floor and tears formed in them once again. Robin continued, "I'm doing this because I owe a lot to Raven for everything she's done for this team over the years. She asked me to... that's the only reason." and he walked off into the kitchen to make his breakfast.

As soon as he was gone, Starfire scooted over next to Hanna again and whispered in her ear, "Richard is a superb liar, is he not?" Hanna looked over at her and Star giggled, "Raven did not ask him to do anything... he made the calls less than an hour after he found out about you being pregnant. He truly is a soft hearted man."

Hanna smiled through her tears, "Thank you, so much for everything you're doing for me, Kori." and she hugged Starfire.

The red haired alien hugged back and smiled into Hanna's neck with tears of her own leaking form her eyes, "I would never abandon a friend when they are in need Hanna... if you ever need anything... call the Titans. We will help in any way we can."

Hanna looked over Stars shoulder and saw Robin smiling at them from the kitchen. He then turned away again and walked out of the room, humming a tuneless song.

* * *

Becka was throwing Raven's clothes across her dorm room, digging through the closets and drawers with a zeal the dark haired Titan had never seen in her before.

"Becka... this really isn't-"

"Yes it is, Cassie!" Becka replied, cutting her friend off, "I can't believe this is your first date _ever_."

"But-"

"No buts!" Becka continued to sift through Raven's things.

"Really, Becka..." Jinx sat on her own bed, and paused t dodge a lacy bra as it flew through the air at her from Becka's wild digging, "Cassie doesn't need to-"

"She did the same thing for me when I was going on my first date." Ami said from the doorway, where she and Janice were standing well out of range of any underwear flying at them, "There's no point in trying to stop her."

Becka stood up and examined a baby-t then shook her head and tossed it, "Don't you have anything that's not Goth wear, clubbing clothes, or prudish sweaters?"

Raven sighed, "Becka, I've got a ton of clothes I never wear back at the Tower. I can just-"

Becka wasn't listening though. She turned around and inspected her friends, "Janice might have some shirts you can wear... you're both stacked enough. I guess your bras and thongs will do just fine for underwear." she looked over at the red head in the doorway who blinked and grinned. Becka shook her head, "Sorry Ami, but you're built like a really buff twelve year old boy... small boobs and hardly any hips... Cassie's too curvy for your clothes."

"Can't help being petite and cute." Ami shrugged, "I'm a size zero... sue me."

Jinx spoke up, "I'm a size six. I hate you." and she stuck out her tongue.

Janice and Raven both looked at each other, then nodded with an eye roll, "Size eight." they said in unison.

Becka nodded, "So Jan's pants will fit you too... though I might have some as well."

"You are kind of hippy." Janice said.

"Are you saying I have a big ass?" Becka flashed her a grin.

"I wouldn't say big... definitely spankable."

"Spankable?" Jinx arched an eyebrow, "Is that a word?"

"It is now." Ami winked at her.

"This is insane." Raven turned to Becka and pinned her with a glare, "If you want to help me get ready that badly, I'll take you with me to Titans Tower when I get changed. You can do my makeup and everything."

"You have more clothes at the Tower?"

"She has a whole walk in closet full of clothes." Jinx replied, "All she ever wears is her Titan get-up, so all the clothes she buys when she's out shopping with Starfire just sit there."

Raven nodded, "It's the truth... I have clothes that probably wont even fit me anymore from when I bought them when I was fifteen."

"Okay then!" Becka grinned, "We're blowing off homework to get you ready tomorrow night!"

"And you know what that means." Raven looked around at all of them.

"What's that?" Janice asked, and eyebrow raised.

"That we're putting in extra time tonight, once Hanna gets back."

The other four girls groaned, and started out of the room. Jinx spoke up as she was leaving, "Glad I don't need to get good grades while I'm here..."

"But you will." Raven poked her in the back, "Maybe they'll put it towards your GED."

Jinx groaned again as Raven shoved her out of the room.

* * *

The sun was just starting to set when he found her. Robin dropped to the rooftop of the Westmarch Apartments from his grappler line and landed in a crouch next to Troia. She started and jumped back from him before relaxing with a grin.

"I'll have to get used to that again."

"Sorry." Robin smirked back, and stood up, "Anything go down today?"

"Not a thing. Becka Pullman stayed inside most of the day, except for a brief time when she was outside with her boyfriend. Jinx was nearby at all times."

"Good. She's getting smarter."

"Jinx or Becka?"

"Both." Robin nodded, "Thanks for keeping an extra close eye out today. Starfire will be with you tomorrow, so you shouldn't have to zip around as much."

"It was no burden." Troia waved it off, "Did her conversation with Miss Trestle go well?"

"I guess. They seemed happy when I left, talking about dresses and dances. Hanna's still going to go, despite everything."

"She _has_ had a very trying week."

"Still... protecting Pullman is our main focus, and I don't want us to loose sight of that because one of her friends was a victim of a rather terrible crime."

"One you thought Garfield didn't handle properly, I hear." Troia frowned at him.

"Christ... he told you about that?"

"Dick, you and Bruce used to beat the ever loving crap out of guys like that. What's so different about Beast Boy doing it?"

"Batman and I always turned them in." Robin stalked away from her a little ways and fumed, "Besides... I came out here to get away from Bruce... I don't want to be like him. I don't want to..."

"Kori is a fine young woman." Troia walked over and put a hand on Robin's shoulder, "Bruce is filled with hate and anger, Dick. You're not like that." she pulled on his shoulder and turned him around to face her, "You've never been like that."

Robin looked at her for a long moment, then pulled her to him and hugged her, "I'm sorry, Donna. I should have been there for you. I should have kept in touch better, and-"

"Dick, don't worry about it. It was as much my fault as yours. I was young, stupid... I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Diana _still_ lectures me about it."

"I just wish... I could have helped."

"There was nothing a super hero could have done, Dick. And let's face it, even if he is Bruce Wayne's adopted son, Richard Grayson couldn't have done much to save my marriage and let me keep my child."

Robin pulled away with a weak grin, "How do you always know how to make me feel better?"

"Years of hanging out with you." Troia knuckled his chin, "You haven't changed that much, Dick Grayson."

Robin chuckled and nodded, "I guess. Hey, say hi to Roy before you take off. He's over on the north side of the campus."

"I will." As she took to the air, Troia waved to him, "Be safe, Robin." and she flew off. He watched her go for a moment, then turned back towards the school.

Sighing, Robin pulled out his binoculars and settled himself down for another long night.

* * *

Speedy was squinting through his own binoculars with a grin when an amused voice fell on his ears, "What are you doing, Harper?"

The young archer almost fell off the building he was crouched on.

"Fucking hell, Donna!" he reached out and steadied himself with one hand and glared up at where she was floating in the air above him, "Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

"No, but Raven would be if she found out you were peeping at her while she was changing for dinner." Troia winked and settled down next to him on the ledge of the roof.

"Nothing I haven't seen before." Speedy replied in a mutter and tucked away his binoculars, "How'd things go today?"

"Fine." she lightly punched his arm, "Don't change the subject though, Roy. What do you mean, nothing you haven't seen before."

He blinked at her and blushed a little, "Why do you make me feel like I've been a naughty boy?"

"Must be a big sister thing, huh?"

"I was hanging out with you when I was twelve for crying out loud..." he ran a hand over his face, "Um... Raven and I sorta' have a thing."

"A thing where you've seen her naked?"

He winced a little and grinned stupidly, "Uh... yeah." He held up two fingers, "Twice."

"You've had sex with Raven twice."

"Yes."

Troia looked at him for a moment, then exploded with laughter. Speedy frowned as she fell off the roof and floated a little ways away before regaining control of herself. "Sorry..." she muttered, wiped away a tear, and sat next to him once again.

They sat in silence for several minutes, before Speedy shook his head, "It's official. I hate you."

Troia started laughing again.

* * *

Raven and Jinx were changed into their school uniforms once again as they exited their room. Jinx poked her not-step-sister in the arm, "What were you smiling about a minute ago?"

Raven looked over at her with a sly grin, "Roy was watching me change."

Jinx stopped and glared at her, "You mean he was watching _us_ change."

Raven blinked, then shrugged, "It's not like he hasn't seen you naked too."

"Yeah, but I don't want to fuck his brains out!" Jinx glared harder.

Raven _looked_ at her.

After a moment, the blonde haired former villain started to fidget, "Okay, okay. He's hot, alright? I wouldn't mind a tumble with him, but he's your man, so that's a big fat no-no, right?"

"Right." Raven nodded, "Not worried, really."

"Oh, you don't think he'd go for me?"

"You're tits are too small."

"Shut up, Cassie." Jinx stuck her tongue out.

A moment later, the door to the stairs opened up, and Hanna stepped into the hallway. She spotted Jinx and Raven and waved, "Hi."

"Hanna..." Raven arched an eyebrow, "How did you get back? I was going to teleport you so we wouldn't raise any suspicions."

"No offence, Cassie, but that black energy stuff is freakin' scary." Hanna grinned at her, "I called a cab."

Raven blinked, then shrugged, "Well, I guess it _is _the physically manifested energies of the Eighth Demon."

Hanna stared at her with her mouth open for a moment, then twirled around and headed for her room, "I'm officially never letting you teleport me again."

"Heh." Raven looked over and Jinx, with a grin.

Jinx hit her in the arm, then walked to the common room.

"What?" Raven followed her, rubbing at her bicep.

* * *

The six second floor girls all trooped out of the dorms together, talking and laughing. Hanna was at their center, with Becka on one side of her, an arm slung around her waist, and Ami on the other side, holding her arm.

"So I'm thinking," Hanna said, "there's no reason I shouldn't love this baby as much as I possibly can. So I'm going to treat this like a celebration instead of a burden."

"Kori told you about the Festival of Birthgiving, didn't she?" Raven asked as she turned around and walked backwards so she could talk to her friend.

"Yeah." Hanna nodded happily, "We actually went to her room and got out some weird bells and little chimes and she taught me how to sing some songs that ensure good health and prosperity for my child."

"Wild." Ami hugged her a little closer, "We have so much to plan and think about now... this is going to be fun, right?"

"Except for the puking every morning and not being able to see her toes..." Jinx lightly tugged on Hanna's hair from behind her, "yeah."

"Go fuck yourself, Jenny." Hanna replied in a friendly manner.

The girls all laughed and proceeded to the cafeteria for dinner.

* * *

Maggie joined them at their table after a few moments, and they all settled into their standard lunch room conversation; who was going with who to the dance.

Ami was quite vocal about her situation, "I'm the only one here who wants a date and doesn't have one yet."

Jinx raised a hand, "Actually, I don't have one either. Don't feel too bad, though. All the guys here are air heads." Becka and Maggie frowned at her, and she quickly amended herself, "Except for you two's boys."

"Right..." Maggie turned to Raven, "What ever happened to Will Mathews?"

Raven blinked, "Who?"

The whole table groaned. Becka poked her hard, and Raven batted her hand away, "He's the guy you talked to the other night!" she said, "Out on the statue?"

"Oh yeah... I guess I've just been thinking about Roy a lot lately..."

"Who's Roy?" Maggie looked interested.

Raven froze and glanced at Jinx, who came to her rescue right away, "Ex-boy toy from back in Gotham. They were pretty hot and heavy there for a while."

"Really?" Maggie looked at Raven with a critical gaze, "How is he in the sack?"

Raven grinned back, "Fucking amazing."

Maggie gasped and the rest of the table burst into giggles. Jinx slapped Maggie on the back, "Don't be such a prude, Mag. You're sitting at a table where virgins are the minority."

"Really?" Maggie looked around at them, "Who isn't-" she paused, "No wait... let me guess." She pointed at Janice first, "I'm gonna guess you've been with at least another girl."

"Yeah." Janice blushed a little and nodded, "She was really sweet, but it didn't work out."

Maggie grinned as she moved on to Ami, "Amelia... someone out there knows if you're a natural red head or not." Ami just grinned and shrugged.

"What can I say? He was hot!"

Maggie shook her head and pointed at Raven next, "You've been with at least two guys."

"Just the one, actually." Raven smiled and shook her head.

"Hmm..." Maggie looked over at Jinx, and opened her mouth to speak, but the blonde cut her off,

"Yeah, yeah. Three boys and counting." Jinx scowled at everyone as they all laughed at her. "Fuck all of you."

"Maybe just Janice, actually." Hanna put in, and the table laughed again.

"You're a hard one to figure, Hanna." Maggie said, and Hanna grew very quiet. The bespeckled guesser frowned, "I'm sorry... what is it?"

"My first time wasn't that great." Hanna replied, and left it at that.

"Sorry..." Maggie said again, then looked over at Becka, "So... just you and me, huh?"

Becka threw her hands up with a grin, "How'd you know?"

"Maybe because you walk like you've never had a good hard fucking." Jinx giggled, and the rest of the table joined her a moment latter.

"This just got way too vulgar for this virgin." Maggie stood up, "I'll see you guys in class tomorrow."

"Later!"

"Bye!"

A few moments after Maggie was gone, Becka touched Hanna's hand, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hanna nodded, and brushed at her eyes for a moment, "I'm okay."

"It'll be hard, getting used to it." Raven said, and locked eyes with the blonde girl, "But you're strong, Hanna. You'll be just fine."

"And we'll all be there with you, every step of the way." Ami said, "Right girls? We're all going to stay here in Jump and go to collage and help you out."

"Definitely." Janice nodded.

"Right on." Becka grinned at her friend.

The four girls all looked over and Jinx and Raven, who looked back. Raven shrugged, "I'm not going anywhere."

Jinx nodded, "And even if I'm not exactly 'on the outside' I'll still be there for you when I get out."

Hanna blinked away tears, and hugged Becka, "Thanks, guys. You're all better friends then I could ask for."

"Don't rub it in." Ami smirked, and Hanna laughed.

"Well," Raven stood up, "let's get back and hit the books." Everyone at the table started to protest, but the black haired Titan held up a hand and quieted them, "No complaining. Let's go."

Raven walked ahead of the rest of them as the girls all stood up and disposed of their dinner trays and flatware. As she walked out of the building, a hand gripped Raven's arm. She started, and turned to see Rose there, looking quite serious.

"Cassandra," the white haired girl said, "I need to talk to you about-" she stopped when the rest of the girls came out behind Raven.

"Rose?" Raven touched her arm, "What is it?"

"Never mind." Rose mumbled and stepped back from the dark haired girl, "I'll see you in class." and she walked away.

"What was that all about?" Jinx asked as she stepped up next to Raven.

"I don't know. I'll go see her later." Raven replied.

"Hey!" the two of them looked up to see Becka waving at them from down the path to the dorms, "You two coming?"

The two of them hurried to catch up with their friends, forgetting about Rose for the time being.

* * *

Robin felt his T-Comp buzzing and pulled it out. After checking the ID readout, he flipped it open and spoke into it, "Talk to me Gar."

_"Gar? Should I start calling you Dick?"_

"Beast Boy then. Whatever. What do you want?"

_"Jeez. No need to bite my head off." _Beast Boy frowned at him, _"I just finished going through the data the computer spit out on Rose Wilson."_ he paused and sighed in a dramatic fashion, _"Again." _

"My heart bleeds for you." Robin checked the school once again through his night vision equipment and noted the time on his T-Comp's readout, "Anything pop out at you?"

_"Well, there's still nothing I can trace about her parents. Just her previous schooling... mostly at home with whoever her mother is... and a few awards for winning various track competitions at the last actual school she went to in New York."_

"So no leads there. Anything else?"

_"Raven mentioned that Rose had been saying goodbye to a family friend named Wintergreen, and I figured that couldn't be too common a name, so I checked into that."_

"And?"

_"Turns out in Great Britain it's like, the fifth most common name in the world or something. Or at least it seems that way. There's a few thousand families with that name."_

"So... still nothing?" Robin was growing impatient.

_"Keep your tights on, Boy Wonder. I'm getting to the point here."_

"I do not wear tights." Robin frowned down at Beast Boy's video image on his T-Comp.

_"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I set the computer to do a cross reference of what we've worked up on Rose so far and the name Wintergreen, and it spit out a few notes about a man by that name signing for her mail order school books while she was being home schooled, so I checked out that name. I then able to place him in a picture taken at one of Rose's track meets. He was cheering her on in the stands." _

"Nice work, Gar." Robin arched an eyebrow, "I'm impressed."

_"Coming from you, that's about the highest praise I've ever had." _

Robin rolled his eyes.

_"Anyway, this name mean anything to you? Major William Randolf Wintergreen."_

"Doesn't ring any bells. He was in the army?"

_"The British Royal Infantry. Served in WWII and Korea." _

"Hmm." Robin frowned, "Dig deeper. I want to know what he did after his discharge."

_"Will do. Hey... did you see Hanna today?"_

Robin raised both eyebrows at that, "Yeah. Why?"

_"Did she seem okay?" _Beast Boy looked anxious.

"She and Kori had a long talk, then they vanished into her room to do God knows what. Girls stuff, I guess."

_"Right... I'll talk to Star about it..."_

"You're not developing a crush on her are you?"

_"Would that be a problem?" _Beast Boy frowned at the Boy Wonder, _"It's more constructive then having a crush on Raven." _

Robin sighed, "She was just raped a few days ago, Gar. She's vulnerable right now, and probably not looking for a relationship."

_"I know... but... I saved her from that, man. I just want to help, and if she wants to take it slow, that's okay. We can just be friends for now."_

"Just don't go into anything hoping for a new girlfriend, Beast Boy." Robin gave him a supportive look, "She wont be ready for a while."

_"Thanks for looking out for me, Dick, but I think it's time I learned to stand on my own two feet. I can handle myself." _

"Alright. Call if you find anything else."

_"Will do. See you in the morning." _

"Right. Robin out." The Boy Wonder flipped his T-Comp shut and sighed.

* * *

Raven looked out her window, across the street to the building that Speedy was still crouched on. He waved at her.

Raven grinned, and slowly started unbuttoning her blouse, making a smoochy face at him as she did. When she got down to around her navel, she pushed her shirt open to reveal her rather low cut white bra, then waved as she slowly lowered the blinds. As he vanished from her sight, Raven was happy to note that his mouth was hanging open.

Giggling, she pulled her shirt off the rest of the way and blushed beet red, "I can't believe I just did that..." she said out loud as she turned around.

"Did what?" Hanna asked from the doorway, where she stood with the door open.

"Whoa!" Raven jumped back from her, "Shut the door! We don't need Jan peeking in here and seeing my boobs!"

Janice's voice drifted down from the common room, "Wouldn't be the first time!"

Hanna giggled and stepped into the room as Raven pulled on a t-shirt. She shut the door as she gained control over herself once again.

"Did you need something?" Raven asked as she yanked on a pair of jeans.

"Yeah... Cassie..." Hanna stepped over to her and hugged her. Raven went stiff for a moment, then relaxed and hugged back.

"What's up?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I just... you've been so helpful... with the attack, and the baby... I just..." she looked up at Raven with a small smile and wet eyes, "You know... this kid is going to need a Godmother..."

"Oh no..." Raven smiled, but shook her head, "That should be Becka... you don't want your child's Godmother to be-"

"Kind? Honest? Strong?" Hanna grinned and walked over to the dresser that Raven and Jinx shared. She picked up the Orb of Thesla, which was situated between a triad of summoning candles, "Magical?" She waved the conjuring crystal at Raven, and it sparkled in the light.

"That's not a toy." Raven took it from her and put it back, "And I'm _so_ not a Fairy Godmother."

"No, you're Raven Cassandra Roth... you're a Titan, and a great friend. A child's Godmother should be able to be there for him or her, and take care of the child if anything happens to the parent... Cassie, I want that to be you." Hanna stepped over to her again and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You're the best person for the job... I can feel it in my soul."

Raven looked deep into her eyes, then _into_ her soul. She was telling the truth, and her aura was a strong shade of sky blue, indicating strong will and stronger determination.

The dark Titan's eyes softened, "Okay, Hanna. I accept."

"Thank you." Hanna hugged her again, "I expect decent gifts on all birthdays and holidays." Raven laughed a little, and let Hanna go.

"Go get your Chemistry notes and help Jenny. I think she slept through the last class you guys had."

"Will do." Hanna smiled and opened the door, walking out. Raven watched her go, then turned back to the shaded window.

"Oh, Hanna..." she frowned, "I hope you know what you're doing."

* * *

Closing Notes: Now, I don't usually do this, but here's a little bit of what to expect from this story soon; Look for more back ground and the whole Dick/Roy/Donna bit, a little bit more about Rose, and the coming together of all the various story lines into one climatic, two or three chapter blow out.

Not next time though. Next time... and I know you've all been waiting for this... next time we follow Raven and Roy... Aside #3: The Date.


	13. Aside 3: The Date

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: I know you've all been waiting for this. It's short, sweet, and not at all what I thought it was going to be. I was planning some big crime they had to stop, maybe Plasmus or something, but it didn't fit. So I threw in some humor, some running gags, and a little hot, steamy action. Mmm... limey.

Favorite review from last chapter is from **kakashipwnsall...**

**"hm...is it just me or does starfires homeplanets systems seem very..communist."**

I was thinking more Klingon... but then that just goes to show what a huge dork I really am.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.

_**Aside #3: The Date**_

The wall clock in the common room of the second floor girls dorm on the West Jump City Institute for Education campus proclaimed the time to be ten after six on Tuesday. Sitting on the couch, wearing short gray sleep shorts and a mid-drift baring neon green top that clashed horribly with her flaming red hair, was Ami. The petite girl drew a deep breath, looked over her math homework spread out before her on the coffee table, then burst into song.

_Oh! _

_Trig really sucks! _

_Trig bites hard!  
Trig blows the balls of a cow!_

_Mr. Hathorn is a pig_

_for teaching me Trig_

_I wish he would die right now!_

Raven walked past in the hallway, "Inspired, Ami." she commented in a dry tone.

"I thought it was pretty good." Jinx put in as she followed behind the dark haired Titan. She stopped and winked at Ami as Raven kept going, and the red head winked back.

"You two off to the Tower with Becka?" Ami asked.

"Nope." Jinx pointed at herself, "I'm staying here for now. Raven and Becka are going, then I get to baby sit all night."

"Make me sound like a child, why don't you..." Becka walked into the common room, Raven in tow, and frowned at Jinx.

"Hey, I'm almost nineteen." Jinx stuck out her tongue, which still had the barbells through it, "So ha!"

"I thought I told you to take that thing out." Raven scolded her not-step-sister, then placed a hand on Becka's shoulder, "I'll see you guys when I get back."

"Bye!" Jinx waved, and Ami gave a thumbs up. Black energy swirled around Becka and Raven, and they were gone a moment later.

"That's still creepy." Ami shook her head, "And I have twenty bucks that says Cassie gets laid again tonight."

"I'll take that bet. They only have four hours, and I happen to know Raven wants to have a 'serious talk' about their relationship."

"You'll owe me before this night is over, Witch."

"We'll see. You can put the money towards breast enhancement. You haven't got a date to the dance yet because you have no figure."

Ami stuck out her tongue and pulled her shirt up, flashing Jinx, who burst out laughing.

* * *

Robin sighed as he opened the door to his closet in Titans Tower, "I can't believe Raven convinced me to authorize this." he grumbled.

"She's Raven," Speedy replied, stripping off his eye mask so he was once again just Roy, "she could convince a snowball to go to hell."

Donna, sitting on Robin's bed, giggled.

"I have to get to the school. Cyborg is waiting on me." Robin looked at Roy in a stern manner, "And I expect to see you out there promptly at midnight."

"I'll be there." the archer nodded, "Thanks for giving us this time, man... I'll try to use it wisely."

"Christ..." Robin walked towards the door to his room, "When you ask her to be your girlfriend, be sure to tell her that I approve of it." He paused at the door, and looked back, "I know I don't need to tell you, Roy, because you're a decent guy, but treat her right, okay?"

"I will, Dick. Thanks for the faith."

"You boys are sooo cute!" Donna kicked her legs, "Get going, Dick... I'll handle Roy from here on out."

"Later." Robin waved over his shoulder as he exited the room. Donna turned to Roy and grinned,

"Alright... let's see what Dick has that'll fit you..."

* * *

Becka staggered into Raven's room and shivered. Starfire looked up from where she was sprawled on Ravens bed, reading a vampire novel, "Hmm..." the Tameranian frowned, "It seems Raven's soul-self has had the same effect on you as it did on Hanna."

"How do you stand being transported through that thing?" Becka crawled onto the bed with Star and grabbed a blanket, "Jeez!"

Raven walked into her room with an amused smile on her face, "I just saw Robin in the hall. He told me Troia is helping Roy get ready."

"Who?" Becka asked as she shifted about, draping the blanket across her shoulders like a cloak.

"Troia." Raven replied, "She used to be called Wonder Girl."

"Oh." Becka frowned.

Raven rolled her eyes, "You were twelve when she retired from the superhero community."

"Okay... that makes more sense then... all I was interested in when I was twelve was ponies and ballet class."

"You took _ballet?_" Raven stifled a laugh.

"Don't knock it, sister. I happen to have exceptional grace." Becka stood up and sashayed across the room to Raven's walk in closet, "Starfire, would you care to join me in selecting tonight's outfit options for Miss Roth?"

"Please, call me Kori." Starfire floated over to the closet as well, setting the book aside, "And I would be delighted to assist you. Raven's slightly pornographic literature has grown hard to understand."

Becka stopped and looked at Raven, who shrugged,

"Hey, vampire sex is the _best_ sex."

* * *

Roy, naked from the waist up, held up a blue, short sleeved button down shirt in front of himself while looking in Robin's full length mirror. He then moved it aside and held up a red t-shirt with large print proclaiming it to be a 'Bullshirt.'

"I like the jeans, Donna, but which shirt do you think?" he called into the closet.

"Hey! Roy!" Donna jumped out of the closet, "Check it out!"

He looked over and stifled a laugh when he saw her. She was wearing Robin's costume, complete with cape and eye mask. The fabric of the shirt was stretched so tight around her chest because of her rather large bust size that it rode up, reveling her mid-drift.

"The Girl Wonder! Leader of the Teen Titans!" She whipped her cape up and around her shoulder, showing only her eye mask over the top of it, the rest hiding her body, "Girl of mystery, and master of a hundred martial arts styles!"

Roy finally burst out laughing so hard he fell over. As Donna began to giggle and lean against the doorframe of the closet, Robin's door opened.

Both of them stopped laughing abruptly and looked up to see Beast Boy standing in the doorway. His mouth was hanging open, and he was staring at Donna in slack jawed amazement.

"Um..." Donna fidgeted, "You're probably wondering what the hell we're doing right about now..."

Beast Boy just shook his head, "Damn... you look even better in that costume than Raven did."

_"Raven?"_ Both Roy and Donna shouted at the same time.

"Yeah," Beast Boy grinned, "While Robin was gone on this training thing once, we all snuck in here and raided his costume closet. I'd defiantly say Starfire looked good in it, but Raven really made the cape look _hot_."

All three of them stared at each other for a full minute, then burst out laughing again.

* * *

"This one." Becka held up a shirt for Raven, "Definitely this one."

Raven looked at it, trying to remember when she'd bought it. It was light blue, a color she tended to avoid as she liked the darker tones better, and had a relatively low v-neck cut.

"I guess it'd be a good boob shirt..." Raven took it from her friend, "Let's see what it looks like with the bra on..." The bra in question was also low cut, creating and revealing ample amounts of cleavage. It was dark blue, and made from micro-fiber.

Raven stripped off the t-shirt she was wearing and pulled the light blue top on. She adjusted her bra for a moment, then turned back to Starfire and Becka, "Eh?"

They inspected her critically, then Star spoke up, "You do not usually reveal so much of your breasts, Raven."

"Yeah, but I'm going out with a _boy _Kori. You can't tell me Robin doesn't enjoy your tits a great deal."

"Oh no, he defiantly likes them. And he does such _wonderful_ things to them when we are alone in my bed chambers-"

"Whoa-kay!" Becka waved her hands, "Virgin over here!"

Star looked at her and blushed, "I apologize. It is just so hard to not speak of the one you love in such a way when he is so _good_ at everything he does."

"Okay, final opinion time." Raven drew their attention back to her, "If you were boys, or gay, would you fuck me?"

"Hell yes." Becka nodded.

"I will agree with Becka, and give you the Hell Yes." Star beamed at Raven.

"Good. We have our top then." Raven inspected her outfit in the mirror she had set up. Tight black jeans, and strappy open toes shoes with kitten heals. The light blue v-neck top, and a studded belt to add a little bit of rock to her otherwise sorority-girl-esque get up. "Jewelry."

"Oh!" Star zoomed across the room and picked up a pendent, then zoomed back, "This one!" she shoved the necklace at Raven, who excepted it with care. It was a silver chain with a sapphire set into sterling hanging from it. It was simple, elegant, and the only present she'd ever received from Terra.

Raven's eyes softened, and she looked at Star, "I miss her too, sometimes."

Starfire nodded and smiled at her in a sad manner, "Yes... she would have loved this. She would have volunteered for your making up with great enthusiasm."

"Yeah..." They both looked away from each other and stared off into space.

Becka looked back and forth between them for a moment, "Who are you talking about?"

"Terra." Raven replied, and put the necklace on. "Let's see if I can find anything else to go with this while you start on my hair, Becka."

"O-okay." Becka nodded and followed Raven over to the vanity, feeling as if she had just witnessed something very profound.

* * *

Roy was wearing the Bullshirt and the distressed fabric jeans Donna had picked out for him. He pulled on one of Robin's black hiking boots, then the other, and stood up.

Beast Boy nodded, "She'll go for it."

"Hell, I'd go for it." Donna grinned. She was still wearing Robin's costume.

"Okay, ew." Roy shook his head, "Big sister sex is not good sex."

"Oh, punk off, Harper!" Donna laughed, "You think I don't know about you peeking on me when I was in the shower back in the day? You think I don't catch you staring at my chest now?"

Roy blushed and looked away, "You just delight in fucking with me, don't you?"

"It's a hobby." Donna shrugged, and poked Beast Boy in the shoulder, "Stop staring at my chest."

He quickly averted his eyes, and blushed a deep red as well, "Sorry."

Donna laughed, "Well! Now that I've completely ruffled both of your feathers, I think I'll go watch some TV. Cyborg told me you guys get the soap station here..."

"Starfire's favorite." Beast Boy rolled his eyes.

"I'm off to pick up my date then." Roy smiled nervously, "I haven't been this uptight about a date since I was fifteen."

"You'll do fine, dude. Raven digs you." Beast Boy encouraged, "Trust me... when she finally starts to like you, it's hard to get her to stop."

"Thanks, B." Roy walked to the door, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

As soon as he was gone, Beast Boy spoke up again, "Twenty bucks says they have sex again tonight."

"Fifty says it's in a public place." Donna nodded.

They both cracked up.

* * *

"Alright." Raven looked herself over. She'd added silver earrings to her ensemble, and a small black croco-style purse.

"You're hot." Becka nodded.

"Indeed." Starfire nodded as well.

The three of them looked at each other.

"I'm going to screw this whole thing up, aren't I?" Raven moaned and rubbed her eyes.

"No, you're not. Speedy wont hardly be able to talk with you looking so good, so you don't even have to worry about conversation drying up, and let's face it, you already have the sex part out of the way, so there's no pressure on that front either!" Becka beamed.

"You're a real help, Becka, thanks." Raven rolled her eyes, "Now I feel like a slut."

"Raven," Starfire stepped forward, "you must simply be yourself. It is what Roy fell in love with in the first place."

Raven looked at her for a second, drew in a deep breath, and let it out. "Okay. We're going to have fun. We're going to get along, and we're not going to let the whole super hero thing get in the way of us being... us." She checked to make sure she had her T-Comp with her, then strode to the door. "Don't wait up."

As soon as she was gone and the doors shut, Becka spoke up, "She's going to have sex with him again."

"I will place a wager of twenty dollars on that fact." Star giggled.

Becka giggled as well, "No bets."

* * *

Roy looked up from his seat on the couch in the main room of the Tower as the doors to the elevator slid open. He stood up as Raven walked out, and let out a low whistle, "Damn... I wonder if Dick would be too pissed if I kept you out all night."

"He'd skin us both." Raven walked over to him and they looked each other up and down. Roy's eyes rested on Raven's cleavage, and Raven's eyes rested on his tight pants wrapped around his firm butt.

"Damn." They both said in unison, then looked up at each other and smiled.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"Sure." She nodded, "How are we going... where ever it is we're going?"

"We're going to Mama Rosa's Fine Italian Restaurant," Roy replied, and held up a set of keys that he dangled, "and we're taking the Jag."

"We have a Jag?" Raven arched an eyebrow.

"Robin's had it for a while, just gathering dust in the garage. I thought now would be a good time to take it out."

"Why in the seven hells do we have a Jaguar?"

"Dick said something about covert missions and fitting in with the right crowd." Roy rolled his eyes, "I think it's just 'cause he likes the way it looks."

"Well, can't argue with boy logic I guess." Raven smiled lightly, let's roll."

* * *

The Jag was fast, and Roy drove it like it was meant to be driven. Raven suspected that it had been suped up a little, with wider tires and so engine mods that weren't entirely street legal, but she wasn't complaining. Driving like you were a maniac was kind of fun when you didn't have only seconds to be at a crime scene.

As they pulled into a parking spot in front of the cozy looking Mama Rosa's, Raven allowed herself to smile lightly, "Boys." she said.

"What?" Roy looked over at her, "Did I drive too fast for you?"

"After riding with Victor to crime scenes all over this city in a car that goes about three times as fast as this one..." Raven shook her head, "I was pleasantly entertained."

Roy grinned, "Good. That's how I dive everything. Jags, SUVs, busses..."

Raven slapped his arm and got out of the car, "Let's go in."

"Alright. We have reservations under the name Harper."

"Wont it be a little suspicious if Roy Harper shows up at a highly public place with a Teen Titan?" Raven arched an eyebrow.

"Like anyone will be able to recognize you as Raven the Titan. You look hot, Rae. No one will know it's you unless you tell them." Roy waved off her worries as they walked to the doors.

"So you're saying that I don't look hot in my uniform?" she gave him a look.

"Of course you look hot in your uniform. You just look hotter with more cleavage." he winked.

Raven rolled her eyes, "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Harper."

"Thanks." he nodded to her with a smile, "But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't care if anyone found out that Roy Harper was dating Raven Roth."

"And why is that?" Raven asked as they stepped up to the hostess.

"Because," Roy replied, an open and honest look on his face, "you're more important than my secret identity."

Raven blushed as they were ushered into the restaurant.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later they were just finishing their salads and waiting for their entrees to come out. They'd been making small talk about mission operations and funding issues, but Raven could sense that he wanted to talk about something more.

She sighed, "Okay, let's talk."

"About what?" he arched an eyebrow.

"You know what. I know you know what, so don't try to play dumb."

Roy sighed too, "Yeah... Rae... shit. This is going to sound corny as hell, but... I've never felt for someone like I do for you."

"Yeah... I think about you and I get this weird fluttery feeling in my gut, and it makes me want to find you and... well..."

"Yeah," he grinned, "that too."

"It's just... with my powers, I can't exactly always... _express_ how I feel."

"Jinx said she was working on that."

"She is, but it'll never be perfect. There will always be a danger of something blowing up, or if I loose control completely, my Father's essence taking over and driving me insane."

"Woo... okay." Roy sat back, "How do we safeguard against that?"

"We don't, and that's the problem." Raven frowned, "It's part of me, Roy. I have to maintain control, and I don't... I would never want to hurt you." she looked away.

"So this is love?" Roy asked, chuckling a little.

"Oh... I don't... let's not bandy the 'L' word around so casually..."

"Are you saying you don't love me?" Roy looked a little hurt.

"I..." Raven trailed off, then her eyes softened, "Of course I love you, Roy. I've fallen... so completely in love with you... and that... it scares me." she looked away.

"Why?"

"Because it's dangerous to both of us, and the entire world, Roy!" she blinked away tears, and swiped at her eyes, "Damnit..."

He quickly moved out of his chair and around the table, wrapping his arms around her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and sighed as the tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh Roy..." she held him tighter, "Why am I the way I am?"

Roy just held her and stared off across the restaurant blankly, wondering if he was going to have his heart broken for the first time ever.

* * *

Raven calmed herself before their dinners arived, and they ate in silence. After Roy paid the bill, they left the building and started towards the car. Halfway there, Roy touched her arm, "Hey."

"Yes?" Raven refused to look him in the eye.

"Let's go for a walk."

"Okay." Raven nodded glumly and took his arm, still staring straight ahead. As they found the sidewalk and started to head down further into town, she shivered a little.

"Cold?" he asked.

"Not really... just... upset with myself."

"It's okay to cry sometimes, Rae. You hold yourself up to standards that you don't need to anymore. Remember... you banished Trigon back into the hell he came out of... his hold on you has lessened."

"Still... my very soul is a dimensional portal, and extreme emotional strife will throw it out of control and open a hole in space to who knows where... it could bring Trigon back, or connect us directly to Apokolips... hell, I could hurl us all into the dimension Larry is from..."

"Who?" Roy laughed a little.

"Long story." Raven waved it off, then muttered to herself, "Stupid... magic finger..."

"Okay... I think I should be the only guy you talk about who has magic fingers." Roy winked at her.

"Be serious for a few more minutes, Roy. For me, okay?" Raven sounded exasperated.

"Okay, okay... let's just... I dunno. Take this slow. I know the easiest was to keep your powers in check is to not feel at all... but you have breathing room in that area now, if you choose to take it, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"So... why don't you just... experiment... you know when you're starting to loose control, so let's push the boundaries... let's see how much you can love me without killing me, and hold it right there."

"Roy... it's not that easy."

"I understand that." he shook his head, "It's not going to be an easy thing, Raven. You'll just have to decide if you want to keep doing things the easy way... or if you want to take a chance and live your life the way you want to."

"It's not just a chance I'd be taking, Roy. It's a chance the whole world could be threatened by."

"Like I said, Raven," he looked up at the stars, "it's up to you."

Raven looked at him finally, and frowned at the serious look on his face. She looked back down, and they continued to walk through the city, the early evening diners and shoppers milling about them as they walked through the commercial district.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Raven asked as she looked up at the stars.

"It sure is." Roy pulled her closer to him, "And I can't think of a better person to experience it with."

* * *

Later, Raven inspected the cracks in the sidewalk in front of the bench she was seated on, pondering what Roy had said to her. She _could_ push her limits, and find where they stopped, simply through a process of meditation and extreme focus, but maintaining that level of emotional awareness and not crossing the line into the danger zone would be impossibly strenuous on her mind. She'd snap in a few days if she tried.

Looking up, she saw Roy trotting back to her with an ice cream cone in each hand. She smiled at him and he smiled back as he sat down next to her, "Chocolate is okay, right?"

"I live for chocolate." Raven licked the side of the cone and grinned at him.

"Hmm... does that mean you binge on the stuff once a month?"

Raven shook her head, "I don't have a menstrual cycle."

Roy blinked, "Excuse me?"

"I don't get a period." Raven smiled at his dumbfounded look, "I don't understand it either, but something in my half-demon physiology keeps me from it. As far as I know, that means I don't have the ability to have children either."

Roy sat back and chomped on his cone for a moment, then sat back up, "It's official. You're the perfect woman."

Raven laughed, "I don't know about that, but I'm probably one of the better casual sex partners on the planet."

"So like I said, the perfect woman..." Roy grinned and shied away as Raven slapped his arm.

"So what now?" Raven asked, licking a drip of ice cream that was making it's way down the side of her cone, "We've had diner, window shopped, had desert... what's left to do?"

"Well, we don't have time for a movie, and there's no entertainers out tonight... I guess we could hit a club for an hour or so, but it'd hardly be worth the cover..."

Raven stood up, "Let's go to the beach."

Roy stood as well and blinked at her, "Why?"

"Because I want to swim." Raven looked over her shoulder as she started west, "You coming?"

"Yeah..." Roy smiled and jogged to catch up, "Yeah, I'm in."

* * *

The beach closed at sunset, so there was no one there when the arrived. Having long ago finished their ice cream, the just jumped the low gate blocking the road into the parking lot and then had an impromptu race to the edge of the sand.

Once there, Raven giggled and kicked off her shoes, then ran barefoot across the cool sand of the beach. Without waiting for Roy to catch up, or hesitating in any way, she splashed right into the water, crying out at the chill that wracked her body. Even in southern California, the ocean was still chilly in February.

Roy followed more slowly, having taken time to pull off his boots. As he approached the water, he stared in awe as Raven surfaced and shook moonlit droplets our of her hair. Her shirt was stuck to her curvy body, and she threw her head back and laughed, causing her powers to spray water up into the night sky.

As he finally got to the waters edge, Raven waded back towards him, pulling her shirt off over her head as she did, and tossing it to shore, "Come on in!" she called to him, giggled again, and dove backwards, floating on her back and swimming out into the ocean further.

Roy grinned and peeled off his own Bullshirt, then dove in after her, six strong stroke later and he was next to her, floating on his back, looking up at the almost full moon and the stars spread out before them, more visible now that they were away from the bright city lights.

"You do this often?" Roy asked.

"No... this is a first for me... but I've always wanted to, and you just seemed like the perfect person to share it with."

"Thanks." he reached over and took her hand, and they intertwined their fingers.

They floated for a long time in the water, watching the stars and the moon, and simply being happy in one another's presence.

* * *

An hour later, they lay on the shore, naked and breathing heavy. Roy rolled off of Raven as the tide washed up around them, cleaning the stickiness from their bodies.

"God..." Roy put a hand on his forehead, "I'll never get tiered of making love to you."

"I hope not..." Raven was still trying to catch her breath. After a moment, she rolled towards him and smiled, "I'd like to try this, Roy... I want to see if we can build a relationship."

"I'm glad... I love you, Raven."  
"I..." she paused, but after a moment, her resolve became firm, "I love you too, Roy." and she kissed him.

Thirty second later, his head hadn't exploded, so she pulled away and smiled, "Okay... I could get used to this."

"Good, because I think I'm going to be trying to get on you every night from now-"

A loud voice boomed at them, "You two! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Light washed over them, and they both looked up to see a police man marching across the beach at them, holding a high powered flashlight in their eyes.

"Fuck!" Raven grabbed Roy's discarded shirt and yanked it on, and Roy grabbed his boxers, trying to cover himself up a little. Both of them scrambled for their jeans and yanked out their communicators, holding them up for the cop to see, still blinded by the flashlight.

"We're Titans!" Roy called, "Speedy and Raven... we're... um... we were just fighting Trident nearby and got pretty banged up!"  
"Uh... yeah!" Raven shielded her eyes with one hand and thrust her T-Comp at the cop a little more forcefully, "He had this new acid attack that burned our clothes, so we had to get them off, and... uh..."

"We washed ashore here and were just catching out breath before calling in Robin!" Roy finished their story.

The cop stopped about ten feet from them and arched an eyebrow.

Roy flipped open his communicator, not looking away from they cop, "Speedy to Robin! Come in!"  
There was a beat of silence, then Robin's voice crackled through the voice only connection, _"I'm here, Speedy. What's up?"_

"We've subdued Trident, but got a little burned by that acid stuff in the process. We're headed back to the Tower for medical attention. Have Cyborg standing by."  
_"Roy, what the hell are you talking abo-"_

"BB is still out there cleaning up, but Raven and I are okay. Just checking in."

_"Speedy, if this is-"_

"It sure is a big fat mission complete, boss man. We'll see you back at the Tower."

_"Raven? Are you there? What the hell-"_

"Speedy out." and Roy flipped the a T-Comp shut. He and Raven smiled up at the cop.

The officer looked back at them for a moment, then turned his flashlight away and started back towards the parking lot, "Carry on then." he chuckled. Raven and Roy blushed as he burst out laughing just before he got back into his squad car.

"I'm never going to be able to look at another cop in Jump City ever again and not get laughed at or winked at." Raven groaned, and fell into her lover.

Roy chuckled and held her to his chest, "Yeah, I have that problem in Star City _and_ Gotham..."

* * *

Raven and Roy stood in the elevator as it rose up to the common room of Titans Tower and made out like teenagers.

Which of course, they were.

As the doors opened, then pulled apart and walked in, only to stop and stare as Donna, Starfire, and Beast Boy looked up from where they were playing Monopoly. Beast Boy jumped up, transformed into a dog, and trotted over to them. He sniffed around them for a moment, then became himself again and walked back towards the girls.

"They smell like salt water, which means a beach."

"Ha! You _owe_ me, Green Genes!" Donna grinned at him.

"Fine..." he handed over all of his play money to her and sighed, "You're turn, Kori."

She giggled and rolled the dice. Raven and Roy looked at each other, sighed and continued on up to their rooms to get dry clothes.

* * *

Speedy opened the door to his guest room, fully decked out in his uniform, bow and quiver slung across his back. He walked into the hallway, and stopped when he saw Raven, wearing the skirt and blouse from her school uniform once again.

"Hey." he walked over to her and kissed her, "Do you get to keep this school girl outfit after the mission?"

Raven grinned at him, "I'll look into it." She leaned into him and sighed in a contented manner, "I had fun tonight."

"We should do it again after the mission is over."

"Yeah."

They stood in the hallway for several minutes, snuggled close to one another, and then their communicators started buzzing. Both pulled them out and flipped them open.

Robin stared back at them, _"I'm not even going to ask what that call earlier was all about, but if what I'm hearing over the police scanners is even halfway true, you've both had all the punishment you'll need for that particular stunt." _

Both of them blushed as he continued, _"It's five past midnight, and you're not here. Raven?"_

"I'll teleport him to the Westmarch Apartments right now." she nodded, her face glowing red.

"Yeah." Speedy nodded as well.

_"Good. See you soon." _and Robin signed off.

"Good God..." Raven tucked away her T-Comp and sighed, "We'll never live this down."

"Oh well. At least it was great sex." Speedy winked at her under his mask.

"Yeah. There is that." Raven took his hand, "This is going to be cold."

"I know." Speedy smiled and they vanished in a swirl of blackness.

* * *

Raven appeared in the common room of the second floor girls dorms back on the campus of the school. She sighed and touched her lips where Speedy... _Roy_, had kissed her goodnight. Grinning like a fool, she turned and stopped when she saw her friends.

Hanna was sitting next to Becka on the couch, while Janice watched Ami and Jinx play cards. They were all staring at her.

"What?" Raven asked.

"You're sighing a grinning and all in love and stuff..." Janice smiled and continued in a sing song voice, "Just like Becka..."

"Shut up, I-" Raven was cut off by Jinx.

"So! Did you sleep with him again?"

Raven stared at her friends, blushed, and stomped her foot, "That's none of your... I... you..." she growled at them, "We have class tomorrow! Go to bed!" and she turned on her heal and stomped off.

Ami looked over at Jinx, "You _so_ owe me twenty bucks."

Jinx grumbled and reached into her pocket to fish out the money.

* * *

Closing Notes: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I've created a forum called Japhith in Design for questions, comments, complaints, or any other stuff about any of my work. There's a REMR thread up, as well as one for The Music of Jump City series. Feel free to stop by and say whatever, ask any questions and bitch if you want to. I'm always quick to reply.

Get ready for the endgame now, folks. This story is coming up on it's climax, and when it's over, nothing will be the same for the Titans.


	14. Overkill

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: I always say I'm going to get the next chapter out faster, and I never do. Sorry for the delay, and sorry for this chapter being so long and for almost nothing happening. I have a habit of writing these huge chapters with almost no plot development. This one doesn't get good until the last few thousand words, so keep reading even if it seems like you'll die if you have to read another description of swanky formal wear.

You know, that's another thing. I know _way_ to freakin' much about clothes, and women's formal wear. I'm a guy for crying out loud. I can't even tie a damn bow tie, but I know all the terms to describe a dress in perfect detail. What the hell is wrong with me?

Standard Disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, or any of the DC Comics characters mentioned in this story.

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven: Overkill**_

* * *

**__**

"Come on Cassie!" Becka, holding a towel up at her chest with another wrapped around her head, whined as she followed Raven down the hall of the second floor dorms, "It's just for one night!"

"I told you, Becka, no!" Raven scowled at the brown haired girl over her shoulder. She too was wearing nothing but a towel, her shower kit clutched firmly in one hand.

"Will Mathews is a really nice guy though! And it's just as friends!"

"I have a _boyfriend_, Becka! I'm not going to the dance with another guy, even if it is 'just as friends.' He'll expect things."

"Will's not like that!"  
Raven turned to her with a sarcastic smile, "Who's the empath here? He thinks with his dick just as much as every other guy on this campus."

"_Chad's_ not like that." Becka folded her arms and pouted.

"Although he is able to control his _urges_ better than most of the male population here, Chad Doxon would nail you in a second if you let him." Raven rolled her eyes, "Don't be a naive twit, Becka."

"Don't be such a bitch then!" Becka frowned at Raven, "I know I'm pressing a bit hard here Cassie, but you don't need to rip apart my boyfriend too!"  
Raven sighed and ran a hand over her face, "Becka..." she sounded exasperated then leaned forward and put her forehead against Becka's and muttered, "I just don't want you to get hurt. Emotionally, or physically."

Becka sighed as well, "I know."

"So it's best for us both if I go alone. I can keep an eye on you better that way." Raven pulled away, "It's my job, Becka. Let me do it right."

"Jenny has a date." Becka continued to pout.

"Jenny is keeping up appearances. I have a bad feeling about his dance. And my feelings are almost always right."

"I know." Becka still looked put out, "I just want you to have a good time."

"Hey..." Raven turned the other girl's face towards her, "You live in Jump, Becka, and you'll be going to JCU next fall. We can still hang out after this mission is over."

"Really?" The senator's daughter looked hopeful.

"Really. If nothing else, I'll be around to help with Hanna's baby."

"Yeah." They lapsed into silence and looked at each other with kind smiles.

Janice poked her head out of her room and shouted down the hall at them, "Hey! Unless you two are gonna start playing for my team, stop oggling each other and get ready for class!"

* * *

Jinx yawned and stretched as she walked down the path to Westpost Hall next to Hanna, "Man! I can't wait 'till I can sleep in again!"

"You sleep in every weekend!" Hanna giggled, "And if you are going to, uh... get that job we talked about after school is out," the shorter blonde girl smiled as a few other girls walked past them, "then... uh... you'll be getting up at all hours of the night any way."

"One reason I'm thinking about not joining up." Jinx nodded firmly, "I don't know, Hanna. Maybe I'll just live a civilian life. Get a normal job, live in an apartment and get drunk every weekend..."

Hanna continued for her, "Marry a handsome half mechanical black man, make lots of babies..."

"Heh..." Jinx grinned at her, "In a heartbeat sister."

"Gawd..." Hanna lowered her voice and moved in closer to Jinx, "Trust me... puking every morning for no fucking reason is _not_ fun."

"Has it... been very bad? Painful at all?" Jinx put a hand on her shoulder.

"Not so much." Hanna shrugged, "Not like getting nailed with a throwing star any way." she grinned.

Jinx groaned, "I still feel shitty about that. Can't believe I missed one..."

"No one's perfect. And I only got hit because I jumped in the way of it."

"To save Becka's life! Which is my job!" Jinx growled, "No more heroics from you." She poked Hanna's belly to emphasize her point, "Especially now."

"Don't worry." Hanna looked straight ahead, "I'm not doing anything else to jeopardize this child."

* * *

Raven stared out the second floor window of Westpost Hall during fourth period History class, watching the boys gym class run laps. She picked Will Mathews out of the crowd and sighed. Looking back a few runners, she saw a young man named Gregory Collmen.

The boy Jinx was going with to the dance.

Raven had already contacted Speedy and had him run a background check on the young man, and he came up clean, aside from a minor drug possession charge. He'd been caught smoking down and had been fined fifty dollars.

"Only in California..." she muttered.

"Miss Roth?" Raven swung her eyes back to the front of the room and saw the History teacher staring at her intently, "Please answer the question."

"Um... sorry. Can you repeat it?" Raven blushed.

The class giggled as the teacher sighed and repeated the question for her.

* * *

As the six girls walked to gym class after History, Ami poked Raven in the shoulder, "You were pretty distracted back there."

"I was thinking about the dance." Raven frowned.

"Bummed that you can't bring your boy?" Janice asked.

"Bummed that it's going to be dark, loud, and hard to keep track of my principle, actually." Raven rolled her eyes, "It was hard enough back in the nightclub she and Hanna snuck off to." The dark haired Titan shot the two girls a look, and they shrugged.

"We'll deal." Jinx said from the rear of the group. She glanced up, "Hey, Hanna."

"Yeah, what?" Hanna looked over at her and arched an eyebrow.

Jinx pointed up at a tree and the blonde looked over to see Beast Boy crouched on one of the higher branches. He grinned and waved at her.

Hanna blushed and waved back shyly.

"Oh ho..." Becka shoved her best friend lightly, "Not your boyfriend, huh?"

"He's just a friend! Come on!"

"A super hero friend... who's real name you know." Raven pointed out.

"So?" Hanna glared at her, "I know your real name too. Doesn't mean I want to jump you."

"I'd _pay_ to see that..." Janice sighed in a dreamy manner.

The rest of the girls groaned and shoved her around while she giggled.

* * *

Gym class was fairly uneventful, and the girls all trooped back to the showers to change. Jinx hurried through her shower so she could follow Becka to music class, but Raven was able to take a little longer. She was one of the last one's out of the showers, and as she finished dressing, she noticed she was the only one left in the changing rooms.

"Hm." Frowning, she shut her locker and turned to the exit so she could go to her painting class.

There, standing in the doorway, was Rose.

"Raven." the white haired girl said in a serious tone, "We need to talk."

* * *

The two girls stood on top of the cafeteria a few minutes later, looking over at Westpost hall. Their skirts and hair both wafted in the light breeze. One head of black hair. One head of white. They were silent for several moments, then Rose spoke.

"I've had a vision." she said quietly.

"Of what sort?" Raven asked, just as quiet.

"Most of the time, I catch glimpses of things that will happen seconds before they do. The most I've ever seen ahead was a few minutes." Rose shook her head, "This one... was a week ahead of time."

"That's highly unusual. How do you know the time frame?"

"The dance." Rose frowned, "It was at the dance..."

"What... was at the dance?" Raven glanced over at her.

Rose looked back at her, her eyes narrowed, and her voice low, "Death." she whispered.

Raven stared back for several seconds, "Whose?"

"I don't know. Raven... I want you to make me a promise."

"If I can."

"When the time comes, and I must face my foe... I don't want you, or any of the other Titans, to interfere. I have to stand alone."

"Rose, I can't let you do that if your life will be in danger-"

"_My_ life isn't the one you should be worrying about." the normally mild mannered girls voice was full of venom as she spoke, "This man... this _beast_ has taken so much from me... and I'll take it back from him... ten fold."

"I wont let you murder anyone." Raven narrowed her own eyes, "No matter what he's done in the past. He can be brought to justice."

"What I'll give him... _will_ be justice." Rose frowned, "Promise me you wont interfere."

Raven looked at her hard, trying to read her. Rose's mental barriers kept her out though, and she finally gave up and looked away, "If this person you're after tries to harm Becka, or any of my friends... I'll have to stop him."

"He wont get the chance. _I_ promise that to _you_."

Raven sighed, "Fine. I give my word that the Titans wont interfere with your personal battle. But Rose..." Raven looked over at her again, her own emotionless eyes boring into the other girl's, "Think about taking him down and letting us take him in... alive."

Rose watched as Raven melted into a pool of blackness at her feet, then whispered to the wind, "I _will_ think on it, Raven Roth."

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair that night. The girls were all in a collective mellow mood as they trooped up the stairs and back to the second floor of the dorms. They all piled into the common room and fell onto the chairs and couches.

"Man!" Ami shook her head, "After last weekend, and all the crap that went down... three days of class is enough to drive anyone bonkers!"

"The dance is in two days... we'll have another break then." Jinx rubbed her eyes, "Regular school sucks."

"What kind of classes are you used to?" Janice asked as she flipped through a magazine.

"I always preferred Black Magic courses, or Doomsday Device Construction..."

"I'd have thought you'd be a bigger fan of Advanced Mind Control Techniques." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Vic liked that one... the tech was pretty cool." Jinx winked.

"You two are nuts." Becka shook her head, "Did you ever take an classes in any schools Cassie?"

"No." Raven shook her head, "I learned most of what I know from a woman named Azar, who taught me meditation, mental and emotional control, and how to direct my powers."

"So... this is your first time taking high school classes?" Becka looked curious.

"Not really. Part of the deal with the local Jump City government bankrolling the Titans was that all of us kids finish the required work for our GEDs. Mostly online courses, but I have the equivalent of a high school diploma." Raven smiled, "Only Robin and Cyborg have real ones."

"What about Starfire?" Jinx asked.

"Well," Raven chuckled, "She graduated from her own planets educational system with top honors, being a princess and all. It was kind of expected. She's an alien though, and not governed by Earth laws as a result."

"Must be nice." Ami slouched.

"Trust me..." Hanna spoke up quietly, "you wouldn't think so if you knew what she's been through to get here."

There was silence in the room for a moment, then Jinx spoke up, "So we have a half day tomorrow for last minute shopping right?"

Raven groaned, "We are _not_ leaving campus again..."

"Aw!" Becka sat up, "Cassie! I still need accessories!"

"We can have what you need brought to you, and..." the other girls were glaring at her. Raven threw her hands up, "Fine! I'll work something out."

They all squealed and started chattering about what could go with whose dress.

* * *

A half hour later, Raven sat in her darkened room, the only light coming from the display on her T-Comp. The image was of Robin, rubbing his eyes through his mask, _"I can't believe what a wuss you've become." _

Raven scowled at him, "Fuck you, Dick. They were ganging up on me."

_"You couldn't put your foot down?" _

"Don't worry about it... I have a plan."

_"Really?" _Robin sighed, _"This I have to hear..." _

"Troia and Starfire are on the day shift anyway... we'll make it a girls day out... shopping trip... thing..."

_"Eloquently put, Raven." _

"Look, this isn't easy, Dick! They're my friends, and I don't want them to get hurt, but at the same time... I don't want to ruin their last year of school."

_"Getting them killed will certainly ruin things for them, Raven."_

"They'll be fine. Kori and Donna will be with us, and since Jinx and I can use our abilities now when just the girls are around, we'll be able to defend them twice as well."

_"Okay... fine." _Robin held up his hands, _"I'll let Gar know that he'll be doing a little extra flying tomorrow." _

"Thanks." Raven smiled slightly, "How's Roy?"

_"Still embarrassed about getting caught with his pants down." _Robin grinned, _"I haven't stopped ribbing him yet." _

"I bet Donna's having a field day too."

_"Actually, Gar's been worse. Which is funny, since he's never been laid." _

"Heh." Raven grinned as well, but stopped when her alarm clock started to vibrate dangerously. "Uh... shit." She squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm losing focus, Robin. I need to go."

Robin suddenly looked serious, _"Okay. I'll talk to you again soon. Robin out." _

Raven flipped her com unit shut, and took a few deep breaths. She'd been living too close to the edge of her emotions lately, trying to fit in with the other girls, and express how she felt to Speedy. It was getting dangerous. Sitting down on her bed, she folded her legs under herself and closed her eyes.

"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..."

* * *

By the next day, all of the girls were in higher spirits. As they walked down the path that led to the main gates of the school, they chatted and talked about what they were doing that day. As it was still officially a school day, they were all wearing their uniforms.

Janice spoke to Raven, "So what's Donna like?"

"I don't really know," Raven replied, "I've never actually met her."

"Wild." Becka finished digging through her purse, "Do you think two hundred is enough to accessorize with?"

"Do you have shoes yet?" Ami asked.

"No."

"Barely then." Jinx spoke up.

Becka sighed as they trooped up to where Ms. Veerlin was checking people out, "Hey Vee. Six for temporary parole."

Veerlin marked them down, "Just be careful out there, Miss Pullman. Keep your friends close, and don't go off alone at all."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Becka responded with a wink, "Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Let's not, actually." Jinx shoved the brown haired girl forward, "Onward!"

As they giggled and stepped outside, another two girls wearing the school uniform joined their group from where they had been casually leaning against the wall. Raven glanced over at the taller red head arrival next to her and blinked, "Wow, Kori. Went all out, huh?"

Starfire looked like every man's wet dream in a shorter-than-regulation skirt and tight button down shirt that threatened to burst because of her bust size. The blazer she wore was open in the front, and her black knee high socks did little to diminish the appeal of her long, well shaped legs. Her hair was tied back in a pony tail, and her brilliant green eyes were highlighted with slightly darker tones of makeup.

"Donna was kind enough to help. She said I would blend in flawlessly." Star smiled happily over at Donna, who was dressed in a similar fashion, except her black tresses were braided back into pig tails.

Raven glared, and Donna giggled.

"Oh yeah..." Ami rolled her eyes, "No one's going to notice that your boobs are ready to bust out of your shirt."

Starfire looked around at the other girls, then smiled happily, "Raven and Donna are experiencing much the same style dilemma. I do not believe I will stand out overly much."

Raven blushed as the other girls howled with laughter.

* * *

Westbrook Mall was full of girls in WJCIE uniforms, dashing from shop to shop, attempting to find the perfect dress, shoes, earrings or whatever else they needed for the dance the next day. The group of six girls from the second floor dorms, plus their two extra defenders were all currently in the spacious fitting area of one of the more upscale clothing stores. Jinx and Ami both still needed dresses, and the eight of them were taking the task of finding the right ones quite seriously.

"Damnit, Janice!" Raven scowled as she shoved the other girl away, "I am NOT your personal sex toy!"

"I'm just adjusting the corset!" the southern girl replied with a light giggle, "Your boobs weren't sitting right!"

"I know I need it for the strapless gown, Jan, but let me move my own boobs around and worry about lacing it up, please?"

"You're no fun."

As Raven rolled her eyes, Ami stepped out of a fitting both, and held her arms up above her head, modeling the dress she wore for her friends, "Eh?"

"Wow." Becka blinked.

"Holy shit, Ami. When'd you get hot?" Hanna blinked as well.

"Donna helped me pick it out." Ami winked at them as Donna stood by and beamed.

"Her breasts are really small, so I figured we should highlight her other assets. Ami is really toned, and she has a great stomach, so I figured this one would be good."

The dress in question was in two pieces. The skirt was slinky and black, with a long slit up one side that revealed one of her shapely legs. Her stomach was bare, and the top dropped just enough to cover her rib cage. It was black as well, with red embroidery swirled throughout in a gothic pattern.

Janice glanced over from where she was tightening the laces on Raven's corset, "We could do a little body paint... a sunburst around your belly button or something."

"Yeah!" Becka clapped once, "That'd be cool!"

"Sweet." Ami grinned, "I have my dress. Jenny!" she knocked on the door of the booth next to hers, "You almost ready?"

"I'm not sure about this..." Jinx replied through the door, "I've always been more of a pink and black kind of girl..."

"Jenny..." Raven rolled her eyes, "Just show us."

Starfire walked over and opened the stall door, peeking in. She gasped, "Oh my! You look beautiful!" As she stepped back and opened the door the rest of the way, Jinx stepped out.

The dress she wore was a pure ivory color, thin straps holding it up on her shoulders, and flowing waves of fabric pouring down to the floor. The hem only fell to her knees in the front, but the back fell out like a train. The neck line dipped, revealing just the top of her breasts. "Hanna..." she looked nervous, "I don't know..."

"It's... angelic." Becka whispered, "Jenny... you look wonderful."

"Greg is gonna flip when he sees you. He'll cream his pants right there." Ami nodded.

Hanna bustled forward in a serious manner, "It's not quite right yet, girls. Here." she stood in front of Jinx and lifted the other girls chin up. Tugging on the neck line a little, she frowned when it didn't move. Reaching up, she shoved the thin straps down, so they fell off of Jinx's shoulders, then tugged on the neckline again, dropping it a bit more so that the full roundness of Jinx's breasts could be seen. "Better."

Jinx turned and looked in a mirror, then sighed and smiled, "Okay... I look a little bit more like a slut now. Thanks."

The six other girls groaned as Jinx and Hanna both turned to them with arched eyebrows and said in unison, "What?"

* * *

As Raven was being rung up for her purchases, she happened to glance over at the intimate section of the women's clothing store they were in and saw a head of long white hair bobbing along. She finished quickly and moved over with her bag to see if her suspicion was correct.

As she rounded one of the racks, she found she was right. Rose was leaned forward, inspecting the pattern on a rather lacey, barely there bra. She straightened when she sensed a presence and looked over at Raven.

"Miss Roth." she nodded, "How can I help you?"

"Just seeing what you were up to." Raven nodded at the bra, "I'd go to Victoria Secret. They have better stuff."

"Mmm." Rose nodded, then smiled lightly, "Are you having fun?"

"As much as I can when I'm trying to keep track of a girl who's a target for every big name assassin in the world right now."

"Good." the white haired girl looked away and her smile turned sad, "I'm... glad you're enjoying yourself now."

"Are you implying that I wont be having any fun later?" Raven arched an eyebrow.

"Raven..." Rose stepped forward and took the other girls hand, holding it tightly, "Watch over them... don't let them suffer any more then they have to."

"Rose, what are you-"

"Shh..." Rose put a finger to her lips, then stepped away, "Be on your guard tomorrow, Raven. I've seen Death, and it will be... horrific."

"You have to tell me what you've seen, Rose."

"I can't. I can't _explain_ it." Rose shook her head, "I just know." she stepped away and turned around. She called over her shoulder as she walked away, "Good day, Miss Roth."

Raven watched her leave with a frown on her face, then went back to join the group of girls she was shopping with.

* * *

Later, the girls were trying to find the right shoes for their dresses. Becka seemed to be having the most trouble, but Janice insisted it was just because she was too picky.

Hanna was inspecting a pair of three inch heals she was wearing, trying to match their color to her dress from memory, when a shadow fell over her. Looking up, she saw the nasty smirk of Ginger Hammilton.

"Hiya, Ginger." Hanna smiled back in a nasty manner, "Have you found another scrap of cloth to try and pass off as a dress for this year's dance yet?"

"Hanna, Hanna, Hanna..." Ginger let her two cronies crowd in around the blonde girl, "Why do you even try to find shoes that look good on your ugly little feet?"

"I have very cute feet, thank you." Hanna kicked off the heals and wiggled her toes at Ginger, "See? I could be a foot modal."

Ginger stomped on her foot.

Hanna hissed in pain, but refused to cry out, "That... wasn't very nice."

"Where's Jenny Wrangler now, Hanna? Where's your horde of friends to save you? I _owe_ you for when you shoved me in the locker room."

Hanna's eyes grew wide as Ginger leaned in, but just as the taller girl was about to raise her hand, she stumbled forward. Long black hair fell past her face, and Donna leaned on her back, "What's the huddle for, girls?"

"Who the hell are you? Get off of me!" Ginger shoved at Donna, but she didn't even budge.

"Let me think about that..." Donna thought for a second, "No. See, Hanna here is a friend of mine, and I don't really think you're being too nice."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Donna Troy, at your service. I'm a friend of Hanna's from out of town. Just in to help her shop today."

"Get off of me!"

"Okay!" Donna stood up and yanked Ginger back with her, pulling the slightly shorter girl off her feet. It was only then that Hanna realized Donna was almost six feet tall.

Shaking Ginger once, Donna let her go and shoved her a little ways away, "Don't mess with my friends. Especially not Hanna." She glared and scowled her best Amazon Warrior scowl, "Get lost, bitch."

Ginger and her two cronies fled.

Hanna looked up at Donna with wide eyes, then covered her mouth and stumbled to her feet, dashing off to the bathrooms in the back of the store.

* * *

Donna stepped into the woman's rest room and walked right to the stall she heard the sounds of sickness coming from. Opening the door, she walked in and helped Hanna to sit up, then held her hair and rubbed her back as she threw up again.

After a moment of heaving, Hanna finally settled back into Donna's arms, sobbing, "I'm sorry... I'm not usually so..."

"Your hormones are all messed up right now." Donna pulled some toilet paper off the roll and dabbed at Hanna's mouth, cleaning away a bit of spittle, "The stress of the encounter just threw you for a loop."

"So you know? About how I... I'm..."

"Yes, I know."

"Oh." Hanna sighed, "You don't seem too... upset by it."  
"Why should I be? I was barely a year older than you are now when I got pregnant." Donna hugged her tighter, then relaxed.

"_You_ have a baby?"

"Little Robert is with his father for right now, but yes, I gave birth to a wonderful little boy."

"With your body? Never would have guessed it." Hanna struggled to sit up, and Donna helped her, laughing the whole time.

"Well, I keep in shape. When you used to be called Wonder Girl, people kind of expect you to look... wonderful."

"You were _Wonder Girl_?" Hanna sounded incredulous, "So... you know Wonder Woman?"

"Mmhm." Donna nodded, "I live with her, actually."

"Wow..." They stopped at the sinks, and Hanna took a moment to wash out her mouth, and clean her hands. Donna watched her for a little while, then spoke again.

"Don't be ashamed of it, Hanna. This child... it will be the greatest adventure of you life. I've fought monsters of myth, been to different planets, seen the end of the universe, and known some of the most extraordinary people ever to exist... but none of it compares to the experience of holding your child in your arms for the first time."

Hanna smiled at her, "Thanks, Donna."

"Any time, Hanna. Any time."

* * *

As the group of eight girls reached the school gates on their return trip, Donna and Starfire passed out hugs all around, "We'll be around." Donna winked at Becka.

"You may not see us, but we will be nearby." Starfire nodded with a large smile, "If I don't miss my guess, none of you noticed Beast Boy all day."

"Gar was around?" Hanna perked up.

"He was a mouse or a spider most of the time, but yeah, he was there." Raven nodded, "He's going off shift in about an hour."

"Oh." Hanna blushed, "Do you think... he might have time to talk a little?"

Starfire smiled kindly, "Garfield still has work to do back at the Tower. I am sorry, Hanna."

"So'kay." Hanna smiled back, "I'll catch up with him when this is all over."

"I think he would like that very much." Star hugged her once more, "We will see each other again soon."

Goodbyes were said, and the girls separated. Donna and Starfire walked off down the street, chatting about something and giggling, and the six other girls walked back into the school grounds, past the gates.

Ms. Veerlin was there, checking people back in, "I see you made it back in one piece, ladies."

"Several hundred dollars short, but yeah." Becka sighed, "Daddy's gonna kill me when he finds out how much those shoes cost me."

Everyone laughed as Becka sighed once again and kicked at the ground.

* * *

Later that night, a knock sounded on Raven and Jinx's door. Jinx was laying on her bed, actually trying to read her chemistry text, and Raven was floating over her bed, meditating. Slowly, the dark haired Titan lowered down until she was sitting, then called out without opening her eyes, "Come in."

The door opened and admitted Becka, who smiled nervously at the two of them, "Um... hi."

"What is it, Becka?" Raven asked, still not opening her eyes, "I sense great trepidation in you."

"I just... wanted to say thanks... you know, for protecting me and stuff."

"It's our job, hun." Jinx winked at her, "We may take it seriously, but you've all become really good friends. It's a pleasure."

"Well... is there anything I can do tomorrow to make things easier for you two?"

"Aside from not going to the dance?" Raven opened one eye and looked hopeful.

"Get real, Cassie."

"Fine, fine." Raven opened her other eye and took on a serious expression, "Stay away form windows and doors, and stay close to Chad at all times. I'll be around, searching out hostile presences, and Jenny will be leading her date around by the nose, staying close to you in case you need her. Try to enjoy yourself, but don't sneak off anywhere with Chad."

"Heh... okay." Becka blushed a little and nodded, "We'll be good."

"Good." Raven closed her eyes again and went back to her meditation.

Becka looked at her for a moment, like she expected more, but when nothing else was forthcoming, she shrugged and looked over at Jinx.

Jinx stared back for a second, them smiled lightly, "Get some sleep, Becka. Big day tomorrow and all that."

"Yeah... goodnight you two!" and she backed out of the room and shut the door.

Raven opened her eyes again and locked her violet orbs with Jinx's pink ones, "I'm worried."

"Rose's predictions are about the future, Raven. The future is fluid, and can change. We'll stop any punks that try to hurt anyone."

"Still... I have a bad feeling."

"Well, stop. We'll be fine."

Raven nodded and closed her eyes again. Try as she might though, she couldn't quite find the focus for meditation again that night.

* * *

The next morning, Jinx was awoken by a light shove on her shoulder.

"Hrmph?" She rolled over and glared with blurry eyes at the dark haired girl leaning over her, "What is it Cassie?"

"I'm going to get some breakfast. You need to be awake to look after Becka."

"She'll be fine for a half hour while you get some food." Jinx rolled back over.

"Jenny..." Raven's voice held a warning tone.

"Fine... fine..." Jinx slowly turned and threw her legs out of bed, "I'm up."

Raven didn't reply, but she glared and left the room with a flip of her hair.

Jinx flopped back down and moaned.

* * *

Raven ate quickly, not trusting Jinx to stay awake for more than six seconds after she left. They'd have to work on her sleeping habits if she was going to be a Titan after this mission was over-

Setting her fork down quickly and forgetting about her eggs for a moment, Raven sat back and sighed. Jinx had become a close friend, and had definitely turned over a new leaf, but it wasn't even 100 that she would be paroled after the mission ended. Even if she was, there was no guarantee that she would want to join the Titans. Getting her hopes up would just disappoint her if things didn't work out like she wanted.

"I need to stop wanting and hoping for anything..." Raven muttered to herself. Wants and hopes led to over emotional reactions to things, and she couldn't allow herself that luxury. Not at the moment anyway. Not for the first time, she clenched her fists at her sides and whispered, "Damn you, Father."

Without finishing her breakfast, Raven stood up and left the cafeteria.

* * *

Upon returning to the second floor of the dorms, Raven was baffled to see Hanna sitting on the couch, with Janice sitting on the floor in front of her. The blonde was doing her friends hair in an elegent, formal style.

"What in the seven hells are you two doing?" Raven asked with a light laugh.

"Hanna does everyone's hair every year." Janice replied, "Maggie is stopping by this year as well, and I was thinking of asking Rose if she needed anything done with hers."

"But..." Raven checked the clock on the wall, "it's only 9:00!"

Hanna snorted, "I have six, possibially seven girls to get done today, plus my own hair, and then we all have to get compleatly ready to go with a four person washroom." she shook her head, "I should have started at 7:00."

Raven shook her head, "You don't need to do my hair, or Jenny's-"  
"Shut up, Cassie." Hanna grinned, "I hate to tell you, but you or all people need a different hair style for the dress you have. And Jen needs hers up for that wonderful dress she has too."

Raven frowned, "What's wrong with my hair?" She pulled out a black lock and looked at it.

"It's so straight!" Janice smiled up at her, "You need... crimping."

"Stop being gay." Hanna tugged on Janice's hair and she winced, "Crimping is... we're not going there. Cassie, you need curls, or an up-do. I'm thinking the later, because I don't think I'm getting a curling iron anywhere near your head without you sending me back to that cold dark hell you call a teleportation power."

"Good call." Raven deadpaned, "Where _is_ Jenny?"

Hanna looked up at her and grinned, "With Becka, just like you asked her to be."

* * *

As Raven stepped into Hanna and Becka's room, she almost gagged, "Holy shit..." she took a step back out, "Open a window or something!"

Jinx, Becka and Ami all looked up from where they were spread throughout the room, applying nail polish to toes and fingers. Ami blinked, "It's not that bad, Cassie."

"Well, her room back at the Tower smells like Nag Champa incense, and dried rose petals," Jinx grinned, "so I can see how she's not used to nail polish."

"Okay..." Raven stepped away from the door, "I'm going to get ready in my own room... Becka, stop by in a little while. I have something for you."

"Okay..." Becka looked over at Jinx, who shrugged. The three girls went back to their painting and chatting.

* * *

Several hours later, Raven was in her room, laying out her dress. Her hair was done up in an elegant looking twirl of ebony, revealing her long neck and high cheekbones in more detail. She glanced in the wall mirror and smiled a little. Hanna really knew how to make her... pretty.

A knock at the door drew her attention away from the mirror, and she called out, "Come in!"

Becka stepped in, her own hair recently done in curls and pulled back to showcase her pretty face, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Come over here." Raven led her to the nightstand next to the bed she slept in, and opened her jewelry box. Taking out her T-Comp, she set it aside, and lifted the bottom of the box out. Reaching down inside, she pulled out a thin silver chain that held a carved runic amulet, also made of silver. It seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, and it swayed gently, even though Raven wasn't moving her hand.

"This is the mark or Odin." the dark haired Titan explained, "It's a protective charm, that will provide a modicum of protection and luck, as long as you wear it."

"Wow... um... okay." Becka reached for it, but Raven held it away from her.

"I know it doesn't match the rest of your accessories, Becka, but I want you to wear it anyway." she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around her friend's neck, latching the clasp of the chain there as she did, _"Vestivus an mal chamra... vestivus an mer kohl." _

"What..." Becka whispered, not wanting to interrupt.

"A protection charm as well, asking the spirits to watch over you." Raven hugged her, and dropped a lingering kiss on her forehead. She muttered in a quite voice, "I have a... bad feeling about tonight, Becka. I want you to be very careful. These are all the protection I can give you to carry with you."

"I will, Cassie... I..." she paused, "Raven... thank you."

Raven just nodded and turned back to her preparations.

Becka backed out of the room, and closed the door quietly, letting the other young woman be in peace.

* * *

The girls assembled in the lobby of the girls dorms at 6:30 pm to wait for their dates (those of them that had dates anyway). Raven smoothed out a few wrinkles in her slinky red gown, and shoved at one of the off-the-shoulder folds of fabric. The corset was pushing her breasts up to never before seen heights of cleavage, and the sparkly fabric shimmered as she turned to take in the rest of her friends.

Ami was in her hot little two piece number, her hair falling to her shoulders in fiery red curls. Next to her was Jinx, her blonde hair up behind her head in a sloppy looking bun sort of curl, and her pale, slightly slutty angelic dress swaying about her hips. Next was Janice, her low cut blue dress swaying about and her hips moving in time with a light tune she was humming. Her dark brown hair had been simply blown dry straight, so if fell down across one shoulder, and was pushed back on the other side.

Becka wore a sky blue gown that barely showed the tops of her breasts, and was held around her shoulders. Even though it was simple, it was elegant, and Becka made it look wonderful. Her hair was up, and the amulet that Raven had given her shown in the artificial light. Hanna stood next to her in a black dress with gothic red patters woven all the way from hem to neckline. It had spaghetti straps, and seemed to accent everything about her now curly blonde hair and worried blue eyes. She ran a hand over her stomach and glanced down nervously.

Raven rolled her eyes, "Stop doing that, Hanna." she murmured aside to the other girl, "You're only a week or so along. You wont start showing for months yet."

"I'm just nervous." Hanna bit back, "Can't you... eat my nervousness or something?"

"I don't like to drain peoples emotions unless I have to." Raven frowned back, "Do me a favor tonight?"

"Sure." Hanna nodded.

"If something happens, and some heavy shit goes down... stay out of it. Don't... just stay hidden, and keep safe."

"Cassie? Do you think-"

"I don't know. It's just... a feeling." Raven turned and looked at the stairs, "Maggie looks good."

Hanna looked over and smiled. Maggie still wore her wire framed glasses, but her normally straight blonde hair had been swept up into a wonderful twist on top of her head. Her dress was pale pink, and was slit up one side to her knee, showing off a rather toned leg for someone who seemed so un-athletic.

"Sorry I'm late guys... needed to get into this stupid heals." Maggie grinned, "But damn to I look good."

"You sure do." Jinx clapped her hands together, "Let's get outside then girls! Those of us with dates would like to meet them!"

* * *

The girls caught up to their dates just outside of the cafeteria, which had been converted into a restaurant style dinner hall with catered food from some of the swankiest places in town. Raven, Janice, Ami and Hanna all hung back as Becka, Jinx and Maggie all girl stepped up to their boys.

"Hey there, sexy!" Jinx wrapped her arms around Greg Collmen's neck. She pecked him on the cheek, and grinned at him, "You like?"

Greg obviously worked out, and looked good in his black tux, "I _really_ like. Damn am I glad you came to this school..."

"I bet you are. Eyes up dear." Jinx winked at him when he blushed and looked up at her face.

Becka giggled at their exchanged and put her hand in that of her boyfriend. He kissed her knuckles, and smiled at her, "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Becka smiled widely and kissed him gently, "You look hot."

"You too." Chad put an arm around her waist, "Ready to eat?"

"Yeah." Becka looked like she was in her own little world.

Maggie stood next to Gregory Vaugn and smiled at the procedings. He took her hand a moment later and she blushed, looking up at him. Without saying a word, he smiled and led her into the cafeteria.

Ami sighed and Hanna put an arm around her shoulders. Raven looked over at Janice, and sighed as well.

The dark haired southerner was staring at her pushed up breasts, "Gawd I want to fuck you."

"Christ almighty, Jan..." Raven rolled her eyes, grabbed the other girls arm, and dragged her (giggling) to get a table.

* * *

The group arranged themselves at two of the six seat tables. The couples took one, the six of them sitting around it and chatting in an animated fashion, while the four single girls took another to themselves. Hanna wolfed down food in her usual manner, and Ami picked at hers, not seeming to be that hungry. Janice ate quietly, smiling at various friends, and waving at people around the room.

Raven, for her part, didn't even touch her food. She was alrenetly watching Becka, and staring off out one of the windows, thinking about her own boyfriend.

"Roy..." she muttered.

"So," Ami poked her in the arm, "You guys _did_ have sex again the other night, didn't you?"

Raven blushed a little and nodded, "On the beach."

"Sexy." Janice winked.

"I've never understood how people do that without getting sand in uncomfortable places." Hanna put in between mouthfuls of food.

"You don't really notice the sand, trust me." Raven smiled a little, then looked over at Becka and Chad again. She frowned.

"Is something wrong, Cassie?" Janice asked softly.

"I've just got this bad feeling." Raven shook her head, "Like something horrible is going to happen." Scanning the room quickly, she found Rose sitting at a table with several other girls and a few guys, eating quietly and smiling in a pleasant manner. She was dressed in a silvery gown, and her white hair fell loose like it always did.

"Maybe it'll just be another guy trying to rape me." Hanna said from across the table.

"Don't joke about that." Ami scowled, "Hanna, you-"

"I know." Hanna looked away, "Just trying some humor therapy."

"It wasn't funny." Ami looked away too.

"Chill, you guys." Janice reached out and grabbed both of their hands, "We're suppose to be having fun! Now come on; let's play The Game."

Ami and Hanna both brightened up and Raven suddenly felt worried, "The Game?" she queried.

"It's the same one we play every year at the dance." Hanna replied with a grin, "Since all the girls tend to let their hair down a little and um... let it all hang out as it were, we can get a better look at their boobs."

Ami continued, "Especially in formal wear, it's really easy to tell who has augmentation, and who doesn't."

"For example," Janice pointed at Raven's chest, "100, baby never going hungry, want to lick your nipples real."

"Fuckin' hell, Janice!" Ami laughed into the water glass she was trying to drink from.

Janice grinned, and pointed across the room at Ginger Hammilton, "Pumped full of silicon, three dollar bill, still wouldn't mind licking the nipples on that bitch, fake."

Hanna giggled and looked around, "How about Cissy Springfield?"

The other three girls looked over and inspected her for a moment. "Fake." Hanna decreed.

"Fake." Ami agreed.

"I'm going with real." Janice said after a moment.

"Cassie?" Ami arched an eyebrow at her.

"Actually," Raven smirked, "They're real."

"Did you like, read her mind or something?" Hanna grinned.

"Or something." Raven smiled back, "You guys should listen to Janice... she is after all, a boob girl."

* * *

Cyborg took a huge bite out of his ham sandwich and chewed noisily as he gazed out over the campus of WJCIE. Students in formal wear walked about, laughing and having a good time. His electronic eye zoomed in on the group of people he was keeping track of as they walked out of the cafeteria and headed for the gym, which had been turned into a dance hall.

The robotic Titan frowned when his eye locked on Jinx. She was hanging on the arm of a good looking guy, pressing her body against him and laughing. She looked like she was having a great time.

"Damnit, why should I care?" he muttered, and his eye zoomed back out. Angrily, be hurled his sandwich away form himself and sulked. "Stupid... witch."

A bleeping from his arm startled him in the silence of early evening. Looking at the com link read out, he answered, "Go ahead, Robin."

_"Just checking in. How're things?"_

"Quiet. How about you guys?"

_"Speedy is on the west side of campus, and I'm up north. We've got nothing." _

"Hopefully Raven's bad feeling means nothing."

_"Keep your eyes open anyway."_ Robin sounded stressed, _"I don't like all the confusion down there... to easy for an assassin to slip in."_

"I hear that." Cyborg nodded, "Talk to you later, Robbie."

_"Yeah. Robin out."_

As he lowered his arm, Cyborg heard a whistle behind him. Whirling around and lifting his arm, he prepared to turn it into the sonic cannon.

He never got the chance. A magnetic metal device clamped onto his chest, and went off with a flash of blue electricity. Cy went stiff, his red eye went out, and his blue parts powered down to gray. He fell to the roof top, a deactivated hunk of metal.

Two metal plated boots marched up next to his head, and a man's voice snorted. He spoke into a communicator a moment later, "This is DS. The Tin Man is neutralized."

* * *

Once inside the dance hall, Jinx immediately dragged Greg to the floor. _Brown Eyed Girl _was playing, and they started dancing along with the rest of the students crowding the floor. She giggled as he sang along in her ear.

"You my... pink eyed girl!"

Wrapping her arms around him, she swayed with in time with the motion of his body, letting him lead her in a semi-swing style. She reveled in it, and threw away her inhibitions as she danced.

Still, she looked past his shoulder every so often, and checked to see if Becka was still dancing with Chad a little ways away.

* * *

Robin narrowed his eyes to the east and looked around the building there. No tale tell glint of steel, or the flash of a red optic sensor. Cyborg was no where to be seen.

"Hmm." He pulled out his T-Comp and flipped it open, "Robin to Cyborg. Respond."

Silence greeted him, and he frowned deeper, "Cyborg, respond!" Still nothing.

Switching call buttons, Robin spoke again, "Robin to Speedy. Hey, have you-"

The Boy Wonder was cut off as a staff slammed across the back of his skull. Falling to the ground in a daze, he still had enough sense to roll out of the way as the staff made a follow up attack at the ground where he'd just been. Climbing up to shaky feet, Robin pulled his own staff out. "Who the hell-"

A shrunken buried it's self in his left arm, and he shouted in pain. Turning, he saw all seven assassins in black ninja garb, and standing before them as their leader, Shrike.

"How'd you get out so..." Robin's eyes went wide, "The League of Assassins."

"We take care of our own." Shrike grinned, "Fortunately for you, I've been ordered to leave you alive. You're not the target here, Wonder Boy."

"I'm not letting you off this roof top, Shrike." Robin extended his staff and took up a fighting stance.

"Have it your way, Freddy." Shrike pulled out a sword, "Attack!" he ordered, and the ninjas charged.

* * *

Raven had made the rounds on the outskirts of the dance twice before she decided to take a seat next to the wall and watch the entrance for a little while. She saw Ami sandwiched between two young men, who looked more than happy to have her there. Janice was dancing by herself, but would occasionally join another guy or girl for a few moments. Hanna sat a little ways away, sipping on punch and tapping her foot in time with the music.

Jinx, Becka and Maggie were off somewhere dancing with their dates, the rest of the girls were having fun (except Hanna, but she was still shying away from male human contact, so that wasn't surprising.) and here she was, playing wall flower.

"Wonder if Roy would come if I called him?" she muttered to herself.

"Who's Roy?" Raven looked up to see the silvery dress and white hair of Rose Wilson as the girl stepped up in front of her. She smiled as she took the seat next to Raven and leaned in so she didn't have to shout, "Boyfriend?"

"Yes, actually." Raven replied, "Speedy."

"The archer? Green Arrow's sidekick?"

"He hasn't been a sidekick for years."

"I see." Rose smiled wider, "You miss him?"

"I do. It's been hard trying to not think about him and concentrate on the mission."

"I can see that." Rose's smile slipped a little, "I've never had a boyfriend."

"Pretty girl like you?" Raven smiled at her, "Any particular reason?"

"I've moved around a lot, and my Father... he wouldn't approve of any boys I don't think."

"I see. Your father. The man who's not very nice."

"He's not." Rose looked away, and they sat in silence for a few moments.

"Hey! Look at this, Ron!" a young man came swaggering up to them from the crowd. His tie was already loosened, and his shirt was rumpled, "Two hot girls, and two of us!"

His friend, Ron, walked up behind him and leered at Raven, "Cassie Roth, right? I like your dress."

"You like my boobs." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Can't deny it!" Ron replied with a laugh.

The other young man leaned in and dripped sweat from his brown on Rose's dress, "How would you two beautiful ladies like us to show you a good time on the dance floor?"

Rose looked over at Raven with an annoyed glance, "Cassandra, we have a problem. There don't seem to be any _men_ here to dance with. Just silly little _boys_. Perhaps we should simply dance together?"

"I think that would make Janice's night." Raven smiled as the two of them stood up, "Shall we?"

"Mmm." Rose nodded and they walked to the dance floor, past the two young men who watched them go with startled looks on their faces. As soon as the two girls reached the floor, the song changed and _Nobody's Real_ by Powerman 5000 came on. They both grinned as the chorus hit, and threw their arms over their heads, bumping hips and moving about in the most seductive manner they could. As the floor jumped, they jumped, and Raven finally let herself go, and started to enjoy the night.

* * *

Hanna chuckled as she watched Rose and Raven start to dance even closer together out on the floor. Those two would have every guy in the place going wild before the night was over.

As she took a sip of her punch, a young man broke away from the crowd of students and walked over to her. She looked up into the eyes of a fellow senior named Howard Turndale. He knelt down in front of her and spoke, "Hey, Hanna. What're you doing over here all alone like this?"

She opened her mouth and almost sloshed her drink. He was so close to her... a boy hadn't been this close to her since... since...

"Um... I'm... just resting is all. I think I might be getting a bug or something."

"Oh, that's too bad. Well, would it be okay if I sat with you until you're feeling better? I have a slot open on my dance card for you... I've uh..." he blushed a little, "Been working up the courage all night to ask you."

Hanna's heart was pounding in her chest, "Uh... that's sweet, Howard... I'd really... like that, and-"

"Are you okay?" he looked concened and reached out a hand to feel her head, "You look warm-"

"Don't!" she screamed and swatted his hand away, "Don't touch me! I-" she covered her mouth with one hand and looked away as her eyes teared up, "Oh God... I'm sorry, Howard. I have to go."

Howard stood back and watched with a bewildered expression as she stood up and ran for the doors.

* * *

Speedy looked at his T-Comp funny as it crackled with static, "Come again, Robin, you got cut off." When no response came, he looked up to the North, "Robin! What's going on?"

Suddenly, and arrow stuck in the roof top in front of him. Speedy's eyes grew wide when he saw the glowing golden tip of the particle detonation device attached to it.

Hurling himself back as the roof top exploded, the red clad archer tucked his communicator away and rolled out of his dive with his own bow out and an arrow drawn. His eyes widened again as he saw another arrow coming in, directly for his head this time. He fired his own, and the two met in mid air, resulting in an explosion large enough to blow him back off his feet and over the edge of the building.

Falling twenty feet, Speedy did his best to buckle his legs and roll out as he hit the next rooftop down on the tall building he was on. Landing on his back out of the roll, the archer looked up and saw a man leaning over the edge of the roof he'd just been on.

The assassin was wearing all black, and had pale skin and a black goatee. He was pointing a black bow down at Speedy, an arrow knocked and a sinister grin on his face.

"Merlyn..." Speedy breathed, and hurled himself to the side again as the evil archers arrow slammed into the rooftop where his head had been a moment before. Yanking free his communicator again, Speedy shouted into a network wide frequency, "Titans! Trouble! Merlyn is attacking me, which means the League of Assassins is probably already here! We have to-"

The T-Comp was blasted from his hand by a sharp arrow, and pinned to the roof. Quickly drawing an arrow of his own, Speedy whirled around and drew a bead on the assassin archer. He let fly and watched with grim resolved as the arrow flew on it's accurate course-

And Merlyn ducked it. Coming up with his own arrow drawn, he fired and Speedy jerked as the Cryogenic detonation encased him in a block of ice. He fell to the roof top, a look of pain and shock etched on his frozen face.

The black clad archer jumped down to where Speedy was and inspected him for a second, then stood up and pulled out a com unit of his own, "Merlyn to all agents. Green Arrow's brat has been neutralized.

_"The Bat Boy is down for the count too." _Shrike's voice said over the line.

_"I've got the troops in position now, Merlyn." _came the voice of another of his associates,_ "Just give the word." _

"Standby." and the black archer walked to the side of the building and jumped off.

* * *

Raven stepped outside into the cool night air, and sighed with a smile. Rose sure knew how to be wild. They'd practically been freaking in the middle of the floor before they'd decided to take a break. Now she was sweating, smiling and wondering if she could sneak off to have a quickie with her boyfriend before anyone knew she was gone.

"Wish I had my com." she muttered and looked up at the cloudy sky. Her sinking, worried feeling returned, and she looked back down just in time to see Hanna walking up to her.

"Hey." the blonde girl said.

"Hey." Raven frowned, noticing the tear tracks marring the other girls make-up. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Hanna smiled weakly, "I though I could do this, but... Cassie... I can't even be near a guy without my pulse going up, and I feel sick, and-"

"It's okay, Hanna." Raven reached out and hugged her, and Hanna sniffled into her shoulder, "Do you want me to walk with you back to the dorms?"

"No... stay here and have some fun... I'm just going to go watch some TV and wait up for you guys."

"Okay, hun. We'll come back early, I promise." Raven let her go, and wiped away a few tears before letting her walk off.

"Where's Hanna going?" Janice asked as she stepped out the door next to Raven.

"She's having trouble with the large crowd and all the boys in there being too close to her... I promised her we'd make it back to the dorm early enough to stay up for a little while with her."

"Definitely." Janice nodded, then grinned a little, "Though, she never has a problem letting Beast Boy hug her..."

"Phfftt." Raven couldn't help it. She laughed. "That's true... never thought I'd see the day when Gar would make a girl feel safe and loved."

"So..." Janice slung an arm around her shoulder and turned her back towards the dance hall, "You'll get freaky with Rose in public but not me? What's up with that?"

"Oh boy... Janice, I don't want to make out with you on the dance floor."

"Who said make out with me? I'll be happy if you just put your hand on my ass and let me rub by breasts against yours."

"Could you be any hornier?"

"Maybe. Let's find out."

* * *

As they walked back in, another fast tune started, and Janice pulled on Raven's arm, "Come on! This one's perfect!"

"Okay! Just-" Raven suddenly gasped and looked to her left. There she saw Rose clutching her head and staring at the door with wide eyes. The world seemed to fade a little then, and all she could hear was a high pitched whine coming from no where.

Everything snapped back into focus all at once, and Raven became aware of Rose grabbing people and yanking them away from the closed doors that led outside. She was shouting as she shoved students around,

"Get back! Get away before-"

The doors exploded in, knocking the white haired girl away from them. She slid back until she ended up at Raven and Janice's feet, and they helped her up quickly. The three of them stared in abject horror as a squad of what looked like black clad Navy Seals stormed into the room and opened up with their SMGs on the DJ booth. The speakers and boards exploded into showers of sparks and the DJ himself jerked spasmodically as the bullets ripped into his body.

Looking back to the door, Raven saw a large man follow the team of gun men in. He was wearing a red body suit, and had a shiny silver helmet on, with an aiming device over his right eye. Strange looking arm cannons were clamped onto his wrists, and he pointed the guns right into the crowd of students as he stopped next to his men.

"Deadshot." Raven and Rose said in unison, then grabbed Janice and forced her to the floor as the expert marksman opened fire. Blood splattered, kids screamed and the assassin laughed.

Raven's face was grim as she and Rose looked at each other, "Is this your target?" Raven asked her.

"No... but he might know who I am."

"Then stay back, and keep as many kids safe as you can." Raven stood up, "I need to get some things." and she vanished in a cloud of blackness.

"Raven..." Rose muttered, and Janice started crying. As the gunfire continued, the silver haired girl pulled her dress up, and shrugged out of it, revealing the combat fatigues she wore underneath it, and a black tank top with a cut slightly lower than her dress had been. Reaching behind herself, she pulled out a long combat knife and placed a hand on Janice's head, "Don't worry... I'll make sure they don't hurt anyone else." And she dashed off to flank the gunmen.

Janice whimpered, then her eyes went wide, "Becka!" she breathed. Turning around and diving into the crowd, she began her search for her friend, hoping beyond hope that the Titans showed up soon.

* * *

Closing Notes: I know in the opening I said I always do this, but this time I really think I will get the next chapter out faster. I always write action faster, and the next few chappies should be like, ALL action. It's gonna get a little dark, and people are going to die, so just hang on, and pray for your favorite cast members. I'll be knocking off several of them in the first thousand words of the next chapter. Heh. I'm _so_ bad. 


	15. Last Stand

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: Told you this one would be quicker! I'll also tell you now that you're going to love every second of it. Or hate me for it.

Best review from last chapter was a tie. Normally I'm all about long reviews (I am, after all, a review whore) but these two just stood out as being some of the best ones.

goldfish demon with a simple "You're evil."

and Meirionawith "yay, people die! Whoa, I am one sick little girl..."

Yes and yes. :)

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, or an other DCU characters.

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve: Last Stand**_

* * *

**__**

Jinx laughed as she wrapped her arms around Greg's neck and smiled up at him, "You're being a very good boy tonight."

"Well, I wouldn't want to cross any lines..." he blushed a little.

"Aw! Cute!" Jinx pinched his cheek, "You're a real gentleman, you know that?"

"Yeah..."

"And you'll only put your hands where I tell you to put them?"

"Uh huh."

"So... if I ask real nice, will you let me blow you later?"

"Yea- what?" Greg went a little pale, "I mean... uh..."

Jinx laughed again, "Maybe a little more than that if we can fine a nice private place."

Greg opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance. The doors to the dance hall exploded in, and both of them looked over to see what was going on. Armed gunmen stormed the place and started shooting at the DJ. The music died as the equipment was blown apart.

"What the hell?" Greg went to move in front of her.

"No! Greg, stay back! Don't-"

A man in a red jumpsuit with a metal mask walked in then, and fired three shots into the crowd of students.

One of them blasted half of Greg's head off.

"NO!" Jinx screamed as her date's corpse fell to the floor, and she was splattered with his blood. She staggered back, slipping in his brains, and got low as the rest of the gunmen opened up with their weapons. The rest of the students didn't know to duck in a firefight like she did though, and screams were heard as many of them were wounded.

"Get down!" Jinx screamed, "Everyone get-"

A body fell towards her and she reached out and caught the female form. Shoulder length red hair spilled across her bare arms, and she saw bright red blood staining pale, slightly freckled skin. Jinx began to hyperventilate.

The lively girls eyes were closed, and her head lolled to one side. Her body was completely limp and it was all Jinx could do to support the dead weight in her arms. Before she could stop it, tears flowed down her cheeks, and a terrible scream ripped from her throat.

_"AMI! NOOOOO!"_

* * *

Hanna looked up as an explosion erupted by the gym turned dance hall, and echoed across the grounds. She stood under one of the lamps that lit the path to the dorms, holding her shoes in one hand, and staring with slightly dead eyes as dark forms darted across the grounds and towards the large congregation of teen aged kids.

Raven's voice whispered in her head, _"If something happens, and some heavy shit goes down... stay out of it... stay hidden, and keep safe." _

"No..." she whispered, and dashed off the path. Looking around, she saw the cafeteria, and ran over to the side of it, where another smaller building that housed the food stores sat nearby. The shadows in-between made a good hiding spot, and-

As she silently padded into the darkness, she heard muffled moans coming from the other side of the smaller building. A male voice asked, "What do you think that was?"

The voice of Ginger Hammilton replied, "Probably some idiot setting off fire works. Now shut up and fuck me."

"You got it babe!"

As the sounds of passion grew louder, Hanna sank to the ground behind a stack of food pallets, "Please..." she whispered, "Please let him be a minute man..."

* * *

Rose flanked the last gunman in the row easily, coming up to his side hard and fast. By the time he noticed she was there, she had already sliced through the strap of his SMG with her knife and yanked the gun from his hands. A hard knee to the crotch, followed by a hard right with the but of the knife to his temple sent him to the floor. She moved on to the next man quickly, even as he was turning to shoot her.

Rose spun the gun around so the was holding the trigger with the gun upside down and pulled the trigger. The shot ripped into a rather sensitive spot on the next gunman, just below his waist. He gasped, and fell towards her, and she caught him and spun him around, using him as a body shield.

Lining up her shot, she flipped the switch on her gun to full auto and opened up in a low arch, blasting at the legs of the rest of the gunman. All nine of them were caught by surprise, and Deadshot called out, "Fall back!"

As they began to retreat out of the hall, Deadshot fired off two shots at Rose. The first one blew through her body shield's head, killing him instantly and leaving her holding two hundred pounds of dead weight. The second grazed her arm as she jerked to the side, having seen the shot a split second before it would have blow apart her chest.

"Damn." She whispered, and lugged the man backwards, laying down suppressing fire at Deadshot as he too retreated out the doors.

* * *

Becka looked up as the sounds of gunfire stopped echoing through the gym. Chad was covering her body with his, clutching at his right arm and moaning.

"Chad? Baby? Are you okay?"

"Got... hit in the arm..." He sat up off of her and looked down at his own arm, "Oh God..." The bicep was blown open, and his blood was dripping off in large drops. "Oh... fuck..."

"Stay calm... we need to... to..." Becka was feeling sick and she looked a little green.

"We need to wrap it tightly and keep constant pressure on it." Janice was suddenly at her side, "I need cloth. You." she pointed to one of the male students, "Get me the table cloth from the beverage table, and then look for anything else that can be used as bandages."

Becka looked away from her wounded boyfriend, "I... Janice, where's Hanna and Ami?"

"Hanna went back to the dorms." Janice replied softly, "I haven't seen Ami in a while, and I don't know where Jenny or Maggie are either."

"Oh... Christ... no... this isn't happening..."

* * *

As soon as she heard Jinx screaming, Ami's eyes flew open, "What? Fuck, Jenny! What?" she sat up and patted herself down, "Okay... not dead..."

Jinx stared at her for a moment, then jumped on her, hugging her and sobbing, "Holy shit, Ami, I thought you were dead!"

"I'm fine! Just... where did all this blood come from?" Ami looked in front of her and saw the two boys she'd been dancing with, "Oh fuck... Jenny..."

Jinx looked as well and saw them in spreading pools of crimson. Ami choked on her words, "That's Bobby and Joel... Bob used to give me shoulder rubs after gym last year, and Joel was with me in every math class I've had here... he was going to be a city engineer, and-"

"Ami." Jinx turned her away, "We need to find Becka, and I need to start helping people-"

_"You'll stay with Becka."_ Raven materialized in a cloud of black energy, fully decked out in her Titan gear, "She's our primary principal. I'll do my best to ward off more attacks, but you need to stay with her and protect her at all costs."

"Fuck that." Jinx said as she excepted a bundle of combat clothes from Raven, "I'm with you all the way. The kids are safe in here and the rest of the Titans-"

"I can't sense Robin or Cyborg anywhere nearby." Raven looked away, "Speedy either. We have to assume the worst. They're dead and not coming to help."

"Oh God..." Ami reached out a hand, "Cassie..."

"Don't." Raven swatted her hand away, "I need to work. Becka is over there." Raven pointed and began to walk towards where Janice was quickly setting up an informal MASH unit.

"Becka!" Ami called out and ran over to where the brunet girl was writing on a notepad she'd found, "Thank God... where's Hanna?"

"She's out there." Becka jerked her head to the outside, "I'm getting a list made of all the wounded and the casualties. I... Cassie..." she stared in awe as Raven walked over, her power emanating off of her.

"I need to find Rose. She'll be able to help. Jenny will stay here and protect the gym... and you." Raven nodded to her, "You're doing great, Becka. Lead these kids... they're scared."

Becka's face set into firm resolve, "Right."

Jinx was at Raven's side a moment later, fully changed and ready to go, "I can't just sit here and-"

"Keep this building secure, Jinx." Raven scowled at her, then lifted off the ground and flew over peoples heads towards the entrance that had been blown open.

Jinx screamed in frustration and whirled around to face Becka, "Looks like I'm with you. Stay here, surrounded by as many people as you can. I'm going to secure the back of the building." As she stomped off, she called over her shoulder, "Ami! Look after her for now."

"Right." Ami stepped next to her friend. Becka looked over at her, but the red head just smiled, "I'll be your body guard for the next few minutes, Becka. Leave it to me."

Becka snorted, "Great. A body guard in heels..."

* * *

A ninja crept along the side of the food storage building silently, hiding in the shadows perfectly. The sounds of two kids having sex were coming from just around the corner. In case the girl was the mark they were after, he was going to kill both of them. Get in good with Shrike, then work his way up the ladder in the League.

He paused when he heard a sound behind him, but when he looked, all he saw was a stack of food pallets. Turning back to his mark, he moved forward quickly, pulling out a dagger as he did. Rounding the corner, he slashed at the first neck he saw.

The young man fell back with his throat cut out, and the girl screamed as blood rained down on her. She was leaned up on a crate, her legs still up in the air and her thong dangling off one slut-shoe clad food.

"Maybe a little fun before I kill you, bit-" he was cut off as a pipe slammed across his skull. Falling to the ground, he moaned and tried to sit up. A red and black blur rushed around the corner and slammed the pipe home again, even as Ginger continued to scream. Hanna stood over the ninja and hammered away at his head.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" THWUMP! "You fucking bastard!" SPLORK! "_DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!"_ CRACK!

Hanna finally stopped beating the man, panting heavily. She turned her blood splattered face to Ginger and looked at her with feral eyes, "Are you okay?"

"H-Hanna?"

"Yeah."

"Did you... kill that guy?" Ginger looked scared.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I did." she screwed up her face, "Put your damn legs down, Ginger! I don't need to smell your pussy stink..."

Ginger quickly lowered her legs and blushed as she hopped off the crate and pulled up her underwear. She looked over and saw the boy she'd been having sex with, "Oh God! Matt!"

"He's dead." Hanna's voice was hollow.

"Oh God... Hanna... you saved me... even after all the horrible things I've done to you-"

"It sucks getting raped." Hanna snapped, "Trust me, I know. No on deserves it."

Ginger just watched her in shock and awe as Hanna ripped her dress up both sides, giving her more room to move her legs. Tossing aside her pipe, she knelt down and pulled a two foot sword from a sheath on the ninja and tested the weight. Nodding her head, she turned back to the other girl, "I'm not taking any more shit, Ginger. Stay here, or come with me, but I'm not going to be a victim any more." Her blue eyes burned with rage, "I'm going out there to kick ass."

As Hanna turned and started to walk off, Ginger stared. After a moment she snapped out of her shock and scrambled forward. Avoiding looking at the bodies of the assassin or Matt, she picked up Hanna's bloody pipe and hurried along after the sword toting blonde.

* * *

Raven found Rose field stripping the body of the man she'd used as a meat shield of all of his weapons. She tucked a sidearm away in the waist of her pants, and double checked the number of rounds she had left in the SMG. Students looked on in awe as the dark Titan strode up to her.

"Rose." Raven walked up to her, "Thank you for forcing their retreat."

"I did what I had to." she stood up and glared at Raven, "My vision is getting more and more clear. He's out there, and I'm going hunting."

"Whoever he is, Rose, you can-"

"No, Raven." Rose shook her head, "You have to get to the admin building. They have the staff there and will start executing them shortly unless they're told where Becka is."

Raven paled, "Fine."

Rose just nodded and got to her feat. She slipped away towards a side entrance, and Raven turned to the blown down doors. Her eyes burned white from inside her hood and she uttered, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." The doors picked themselves up and were telekinetically replaced, then barricaded with several tables, speakers, and other heavy objects.

Nodding at a job well done, Raven turned to the nearest students, "Go find Becka Pullman and ask her what you can do to help. I have to go." They all nodded with wide eyes as Raven vanished into a pool of shadows.

* * *

Jinx scowled and mumbled to herself as she walked down the hallway that made up the rear side of the athletic building. She jerked on a door as she came to, and scowled at it when it didn't budge.

"Stupid... at least I'll know if they come in this way. They'd have to blow these doors down." and she gave the door a swift kick.

The door opened silently on well oiled hinges, giving her a good view of the outside. She grabbed the door and pulled it back closed, peering out of the crack and straining her ears to listen.

There was a group of ninjas just outside the doors, and Shrike was leading them.

"Okay, so once we're inside, we take out anyone who gets between us and the mark." he was saying, "Don't hesitate. They're kids, and they'll go down easy, so just keep swinging your swords and they'll keep dying."

Jinx scowled again and stepped out of the door. She slammed it behind her, making the group of ninjas jump and turn to her.

"Ahem." she said.

Shrike looked at her and he grinned, "You're the one that was with Robin! The blonde that snatched my keys!"

"Yeah. Call me Jinx."

"Jinx, huh? Well Jinx, you're standing between us and the door inside." The ninjas all chuckled in a sinister manner and drew swords.

"I know." Jinx narrowed her eyes.

Shrike looked slightly surprised, then laughed, "Oh God! You're kidding right?"

"'Fraid not." Jinx didn't move.

"By yourself?" Shrike laughed again, "That's what? One of you against twelve of us?"

"Congratulations. You can count."

Shrike's smiled faded and her drew his own sword, "Boys... kill her."

As the ninjas started to fan out and flank her, Jinx took up a fighting stance and whispered, "Come on, Robin. Where are you?"

* * *

Slowly, ever so slowly, Robin swam up out of unconsciousness. There was a ringing sound, and then a buzzing. The buzzing gave way a moment later to what sounded like a voice. A sweet, familiar, welcomed voice.

"Kori?" he muttered.

"Yes! Oh, Richard... stay still while I free you."

"Free me?" Robin opened his eyes and looked out at her. Her upside down face blinked at him and he looked down. Choking, he snapped his gaze back up to her.

Robin was suspended by his ankles with sharp wire, hanging from a flagpole six stories off the ground.

"Okay... get me out of this, and brief me on what's going on."

"Yes, Robin." Starfire flew up and easily broke the wire with her hands, then carried her boyfriend to the roof of the building he had been on when Shrike had attacked him.

"What's the situation?" Robin rubbed at his ankles to get the blood flowing back into his feet. He noted the still wet blood on the side of his head, as well as the soreness in his ribs that meant they were bruised or broken.

"We received a distress call from Speedy ten minutes ago. He said the assassin Merlyn was attacking him, before his communication was cut off." she looked slightly fearful, but pressed on, "When we tried to contact Cyborg and yourself, we found that your communicators had been destroyed in a similar fashion. Finding you without the aid of the tracking devices took longer than we thought it would." Starfire handed him a new T-Comp, and he took it with a nod. Flipping it open, he raised all communicators on the network.

"This is Robin. All Titans, report. Now."

* * *

Beast Boy spoke into his T-Comp with one hand while he worked at an open panel on Cyborg's head with the other. A few sparks flew and he winced, "This is Beast Boy. I found Cy, but he was EMP'd. I'm working on re-routing his major functions through the shielded part of his cybernetic cortex, but I'm not any good at this, and he's made upgrades since the last time he showed us how it worked."

_"Keep trying." _Robin replied, _"Check in when you get him up and around."_

* * *

"This is Troia." the dark haired beauty spoke into her T-Comp, "Speedy is pretty banged up, but he's alive. I think he's coming to... yeah. Hold on."

Troia helped Speedy to sit up from the pile of ice she'd just broken him out of. He moaned and held his head, "Fuck. Getting frozen sucks."

"Robin wants a report." Troia rubbed his back to warm him up, "I found your bow already."

"Thanks." Speedy took the T-Comp from her, and spoke into it, "We got slammed, Robbie. First Vic, then you, then Merlyn took me out like a chump. Do we know the situation in the school?"

_"Not yet."_ came Robin's reply, _"But there's still one Titan unaccounted for. Raven? Are you there?"_

* * *

Raven listened to Speedy's voice coming from the communicator, and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding since Robin had asked them to check in. She nodded, "I'm here, Robin."

_"We need intel now, Raven." _

"Most of the students are in the gym, several are wounded, and there's been deaths as well. I've identified Deadshot as one of the attackers, and he has an armed squad of gunmen with him. Jinx has the gym on lockdown, but there's no telling how long she'll be able to hold it." Taking a deep breath, Raven plunged on, "Rose has helped in staving off the attack with expert combat tactics, and has left to 'hunt' for her target in this mess. I'm currently on my way to the admin building, where I have reason to believe there are several hostages being held by the attackers."

_"Where's Pullman?"_ came Speedy's voice.

"In the gym." Raven replied.

* * *

"Then we need more protection there. They'll hit that building hard trying to get to her."Robin was back into full leader mode, "Speedy, head to the admin building and back up Raven. Troia, sweep the campus from the air and report if you find Shrike and his band of merry men. They're the one's that jumped me."

_"What about me and Cy?" _Beast Boy asked.

"When you get him working, check in. I'll tell you where to go. Starfire and I are headed for the gym to help secure it with Jinx. Everyone understand they're job?"

A chorus of _"Yes!" _met his question, and Robin's felt a swelling of pride in his team. He replied to them in the only way he could, "Good. Titans, Go!"

* * *

Hanna peeked around the corner of the cafeteria and then ducked back quickly. She looked to her left and saw a terrified looking Ginger clutching the bloody pipe she'd used to smash the ninja's head in just a few minutes before. She motioned with her hand, holding up two fingers, then pointing around the corner.

Ginger blinked at her.

Rolling her eyes, Hanna quickly ducked around the corner and dashed as quickly as her bare feet could carry her towards the two gunmen that were peering inside the building. The first one turned and stared dumbly at her as she came up on him.

"Wha-" he never even got the first word out before Hanna slammed him across the head with the flat of her sword, then brought the back of it down across his face. As he pitched over unconscious, she spun to the next gunman. She raised her sword, only to find herself staring down the barrel of an SMG.

"Shit." she whispered.

"ARRRAAAA!" Ginger screamed as she dashed around the corner with her pipe held high. Her face was contorted in fear as she drew nearer, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

The gunman turned and shot her.

Ginger bounced off the wall of the building with a grunt and screamed when she hit the ground. Hanna watched with wide eyes, then spun back around and slashed at the assassin, only to find her sword blocked by his gun. Hauling back a fist, he leveled her with one punch.

"Stupid bitch." Lifting up his arm, he checked a small PDA displaying an image of Becka, and then looked back at the two girls. "Sorry, kids. Rules are rules." and he aimed his gun down at Hanna.

Suddenly, and knife flew out of no where and stabbed clear through his arm, jerking his hand away from the trigger. He shouted in pain as a blur slammed into him, knocking him down.

Rose stood over the gunman, and with a quick downward punch, knocked him out. Straightening up, she adjusted her combat garb, then looked down at the blonde at her feet, "Hanna, just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

* * *

The admin building was dark when Raven arrived. Moving several inches above the ground, she flew up to the double doors of the entrance and tested them. The left one swung open with barely a touch. Taking a deep breath, she gathered the shadows around her and floated in, looking about slowly.

The entrance hall was deserted, so she moved down to the offices. Finding nothing there either, she decided to go up. Floating to the ceiling, she made a portal and moved through to the second floor.

Peeking her head up, she saw she was in Mrs. Cain's office. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Kneeling on the floor was Mrs. Cain herself, Ms. Veerlin, the gym teacher Miss Lovit and Mr. Brogs, who she knew taught chemistry. They were all wearing formal wear for the dance, and all of them except Mrs. Cain looked scared witless. The Principal simply looked at their captors with malice and anger.

Standing over them were two gunmen, and a thin man with a pale complexion and a black goatee. He had a bow in one hand and an arrow loosely gripped in it. His black body suit made him hard to see against the darkness of the room, but Raven knew his face from her study of the criminal rosters at the Tower.

Merlyn pointed his arrow at Mr. Brogs' head, "Brogs, was it?" When the chemistry teacher nodded, the dark archer continued, "Do you have Miss Pullman in any of your classes?"

"Second period chemistry." Brogs whimpered.

"So you definitely know who she is." he tapped his chin, "I'll ask you again, Brogs... where is she?"

"I... I wont tell you."

"Oh... why not?"  
"You'll kill her."

"I'll kill _you_ if you don't tell me though." Merlyn drew back the arrow and pointed it directly at the teacher's head, "Your life or hers."

"I..." he glanced over at Mrs. Cain, who shook her head, "I wont."

Merlyn let the arrow fly right into his right eye. He pitched over dead, and Veerlin screamed. Lovit looked away, and Cain started to yell.

"You bastard! He was a harmless man who never hurt anyone in his life! Who do you think you are?"

"I," Merlyn strode over and kicked her in the stomach, "am the man who will kill all of you if you don't tell me where Pullman is!"

"Enough." Raven rose up from the ground and scowled at the dark archer, "You deal with me, now."

The two gunman pointed their weapons at her, but they were tossed back into the wall with a wave of her hand. Merlyn had an arrow pointed at her in half a second. "The League doesn't want to kill any of the Titans, Miss Raven, but we will if you interfere."

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinth- whoa!" Raven dodged to the side as the arrow flew at her. She brought her hands up and used her powers to deflect the next one, then dodge to the right as a third arrow flew past her.

She gasped at the speed. He was faster than Speedy, and his arrows weren't little trick arrows that froze or concussed. They were real, very sharp, and very deadly.

"Let's see if I can make a full sized Voodoo doll out of you, witch!" Merlyn laughed, and continued to fire.

* * *

Becka and Ami moved along the perimeter of the gym, checking on the students that had fled to the walls and huddled there. As Ami checked on a hyper-ventilating girl, Becka walked over to a young woman in a light pink dress. The girl was huddled over an unmoving shape and sobbing quietly.

"Hey..." Becka reached out and touched the girls shoulder.

Maggie turned a tear stained face up to look at her and blinked, "Becka?"

"Maggie? What's-" she looked down at the body Maggie was holding and choked. Gregory Vaugn lay with his head in Maggie's lap, looking pale and sweating profusely. A gunshot wound to his abdomen had leaked a huge puddle of blood all over the floor of the gym, and his face was scrunched up in pain.

"Oh God..." Becka whirled around and shouted across the room, "Janice! I need you now!"

Janice came running over as Becka turned back and crouched next to Maggie, clutching at her arm, "We'll keep him alive, Mag... I'm not going to let anyone else die tonight."

"Where's Cassie and Jenny?" Maggie looked at her with watery eyes.

Becka paused, "Out fighting. They're not really students... they're my protection detail. There's been death threats... and now this... someone really wants me dead."

"She's Raven, isn't she?"

"Yeah. And Jenny is called Jinx."

"I figured. Greg is going to die, isn't he?"

Janice was inspecting the wound, "No. I wont let him." she folded a large swath of cloth and pressed it over the still bleeding wound. Greg shifted and moaned, but didn't wake up. "He's lost a lot of blood. Ami?"

"Yeah?" the red head was there at her arm in a second.

"See if you can find anyone here who knows if they have an O-Neg blood type. I might be able to rig some kind of transfusion setup using the stuff we have in the supply closets here in the gym."

"That sounds kind of risky." Becka jotted down Greg's name on her clipboard as Ami dashed off, "Are you sure you can-"

"We don't have much of a choice, Becka." Janice checked Greg's forehead with her hand, "He's ice cold... Maggie, I need you to pull him into your lap and hold him tight. Give him your body heat."

Maggie nodded and complied as Becka flipped to a new page on her pad, "I'll take a few of the guys and see if we can't bust into the supply closets. I'll have an inventory for you in just a few minutes."

"Hurry." Janice nodded to her and she ran off as well. Turning back to Maggie who was holding her boyfriend close and whispering to him, Janice frowned, "Are you okay, Maggie?"

"I'm fine... just don't let him die, Janice... don't let him die."

"I wont..." Janice swallowed hard, and spoke the first words of the night she didn't really mean, "I promise."

* * *

Jinx landed hard and rolled out of the throw she'd just been caught in, "Shit." she jumped to the side as another sword came down at her. Rolling again, she came up and ducked another sword as it whistled through the air over her head.

Lashing out at the man who'd just missed her, Jinx punched him in the throat, then kicked him hard enough to snap several of his ribs. She was then forced to roll away again as another man came up behind her.

She'd been fighting like this for almost five minutes, and only three of the eleven ninja's were down for the count.

And then there was Shrike. He'd been prowling around the edge of the ring of attackers, watching her fighting style, and picking apart her defenses. She knew he'd be coming at her any moment now, and when he did, she'd be dead.

"Fuck!" she screamed as a sword slashed across her leg. She stumbled and Shrike took his opening. He darted forward and his drawn sword sank deep into flesh. Grinning, he twisted and pulled the sword out, listening to her scream.

Jinx fell to her knees, and he pulled the sword up for a downward chop that would end her, "Another one bites the dust, eh?"

Jinx chuckled. Shrike frowned at her as she started laughing, "What the hell are you laughing about?"

"You're fucked." Jinx slowly raised her head. He saw then that she had brought her arm up to block his stabbing strike, and blood flowed freely from the gaping wound he'd caused. Jinx nodded to his sword, "Thanks."

Looking at the tip of his sword, Shrike saw a small power inhibiting/tracking chip that Cyborg had implanted into her arm, which sparked once, then was dead. "What the hell is th-"

The area around Jinx exploded with pink light, and Shrike flew out of it with a cry of shock. The blonde came cart wheeling out of the explosion and turned with a shout, "HA!" Pink hex bolts slammed into two of the ninjas, who's swords turned to rust and fell apart in their hands. The group of attackers stared at the feral looking, pink glowing witch crouching in front of them.

"Let's play." Jinx grinned, her eyes burning with fuchsia light, and attacked.

* * *

Ginger winced as Rose tightened down the field dressing she'd just given her. The wound in her side wasn't deep, or serious, but it still hurt, and she whimpered a little, "God... I'm dying."

"You're not dying." Hanna scowled down at her, "If you're body hasn't gone into shock yet, you're going to be fine." she looked away in anger, "Besides, if you'd had half a brain and attacked _with_ me rather than _after_ me, you wouldn't have been shot in the first place."

Rose took one of Ginger's arms over her shoulders and hoisted the girl up to her feet. "Neither of you have any kind of formal combat training, so you shouldn't be out here fighting in the first place." She helped Ginger limp over to Hanna, then gave the shorter blonde the burden of helping her to walk. "I'll escort you back to the dorms, because I need to go there anyway, but after that you two are going to lay low and hide until this is over." Hanna opened her mouth to protest, but Rose cut her off, "This is the League of Assassins, Hanna. You've been lucky up until now, but that luck wont hold against their training."

Hanna fumed at her, but nodded anyway. Rose motioned for them to follow her, and they slunk off into the darkness.

The trip to the dorms was uneventful, and as they stepped inside through the doors, Rose let out a breath, "You can hide in my room. I've reinforced the locks and I have a Sat-Uplink on my computer, so you can contact someone for help if you want. Raven and Jinx are already fighting here, and the rest of the Titans can't be far behind, so this should be over soon."

"What are you going to do?" Hanna asked.

"I have unfinished business with a man I believe will be showing up tonight. He's not with the League, but he's still an assassin, and I plan to bring him down."

"How?" Ginger sounded snotty again, "You have some kind of army training or something?"

"I'm an expert in five different martial arts, and possess metahuman levels of strength and speed."

"Oh." Ginger blinked. Hanna arched an eyebrow.

The lobby of the dorms exploded.

All three girls flew back from the entrance and hit the ground hard. Ginger cried out and curled up, clutching at the wound in her side, and Hanna rolled over, hoping she hadn't hurt the baby in any way. Rose simply landed and rolled back to her feet, looking around for whatever had set off the bomb.

"It's been awhile, Rose." All three girls whirled around and looked to the wreckage of the dorms, where a tall man stood, framed by fire and destruction. He wore a red body suit, with a mask that covered his face up to his brow line, where his brown hair spilled out in wavy locks. Blue plates of armor protected his vital areas, and a black skull was printed on his left breast. In one hand he held a shotgun, and in the other, a picture. "You'll all be dead soon enough."

Rose placed herself in front of the other two girls, "Ravager." she held up her knife, and brandished it at him, "You... you..."

"Killed your foster parents? Yes, I did. Humiliate your father by taking the name his first son did before he was killed? Yes, I do." Ravager stepped forward, tucking the picture away in a belt pouch, "Neither of these girls is Rebecca Pullman. They don't have to die, Rose. Let's take this away from them Rose... it is, after all, a family matter."

"Fuck you, _Wade_."

_"Uncle_ Wade, Rose." and he raised his shotgun, "Oh, my brother is going to hate me for this one."

"Half brother." Rose growled, "And Deathstroke will find you if you-"

"Kill you? Yes... and then I'll kill him."

"You can't beat him..." Rose grinned, "Let me show you how Deathstroke the Terminator really fights."

As she charged him, he fired.

* * *

Raven fell back and rolled as more arrows exploded around her. Coming back up, she telekinetically hurled another file cabinet at Merlyn, who ducked it and fired again, winging her with a sharp arrow head. She hissed as the blood dripped from the cut.

The fifth such wound he'd given her.

"Stop playing!" Raven shouted, and used her powers to rip the floor up around him. Merlyn jumped out of the way and landed almost right in front of her. Her eyes widened as he kicked her back and she crashed through a window.

She started levitating as soon as she was outside, and so the three story drop wasn't much of a concern for her. Still, Raven was concerned. She'd managed to take the fight away from the teachers who remained alive, but was loosing badly.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she screamed and brought her hands together, crushing the room Merlyn was in with her powers. He jumped out the window at the last second, firing an arrow at her. She dodged to the side, but saw too late that the arrow had a rope attached. Merlyn jerked it to the side, and it wrapped around her ankles. He swung away from the building with the rope attached to his belt, even as he fired another arrow to the roof. Raven was off balance from the sudden added weight, and wasn't able to attack him before he'd pulled himself all the way up.

"Let's play tug of war!" Merlyn laughed as he yanked on the rope, jerking Raven around, and giving her a mild case of whip lash. She growled and flew up towards him, lashing out with a black talon of energy.

Merlyn ducked it, and came back up with his bow, putting a stun-arrow right in her chest at point blank range. Raven was jolted with enough electricity to temporarily shut down her nervous system, and collapsed to the roof top, twitching.

"So that's two Titans I've bagged tonight. Not bad..." the black clad archer swaggered over, pulling out a sharpened arrow as he did. Knocking it, he whispered, "Why don't we just kill this one and get it over with."

Merlyn never even saw the red clad form of Speedy charging up behind him, and was knocked clean off his feet as the younger archer plowed into him. The evil man tumbled across the rooftop and ended up leaned halfway over the edge of the four story building, with an arrow knocked and drawn.

Blinking up, he saw Speedy with his bow and arrow in a similar stance, pointing down at him. Both arrows had sharp, lethal heads, and both archers wore looks of hatred and anger. Merlyn smiled in an evil manner, "Kind of a deadly toy for a kid like you, isn't it Speedy?"

"At this range, it'd be almost impossible to not kill you in one shot." Speedy narrowed his eyes through his mask, "But I'm gonna' try."

Two twangs were heard as the arrows released.

* * *

The first thing he saw was a diagnostic screen, which meant he was coming back online from having been burnt with some kind of EMP. Almost nothing could force a full shutdown like he was powering up from now, so Cyborg knew he'd been hit hard.

As his vision came back online, he looked up into the face of a grinning Beast Boy. "Hiya, Vic."

"Gar... what the hell is going on?" Cyborg sat up and rubbed his head.

"You got whacked with an EMP. I had to totally re-rout all of your major systems thought the shielded parts of your... never mind. I'm not even sure how I did it. The Titan Computer had a diagram though, so you should be mostly okay." Beast Boy rubbed the back of his own head, "How're you feeling?"

"Crappy. I'm running on 20 power, and I've got two blown servos. My sonic cannon is useless, and I'm out on infrared and ultra-violet spectrum sweeps."

"So... you're still able to kick the hell out of the guy that did this to you?"

"Yeah, I can still kick the hell out of the guy that did this to me."

Beast Boy grinned, "Sweet. Let's-" he was cut off as his T-Comp buzzed. He pulled it out and flipped it open, "Yo."

_"Mr. Logan?" _Beast Boy blinked down at the image of a dark haired man wearing sunglasses, _"This is agent Howard at Interpole. We checked the files you asked us to... the one's you came across that we had flagged?"_

"Right, on that Wintergreen guy." BB nodded, "Look, this isn't a good time-"

_"Our time is quite valuable as well, Mr. Logan. It's now or never."_

"Fine. What did you get?"

_"Normally we wouldn't divulge this information, but we believe the Titans will have special intrest in this particular case. It seems Mr. Wintergreen has long been in the employ of a mercenary assassin called Deathstroke the Terminator."_

"Okay... so what does that mean to the Titans?"  
_"Deathstroke's real name is Slade Wilson. His daughter is Rose Wilson." _

Beast Boy's mouth dropped open and he turned towards the school, where smoke could be seen, and the sounds of gunfire echoed in the night. "Slade..." he whispered.

Cyborg stepped up next to him, "We have to get down there. Now."

Beast Boy shut his communicator without replying to Agent Howard, and the two of them jumped from the building top they were on.

* * *

Rose dodged to the side again as Ravager's gun went off, and blew a chunk out of the ground. Her ability to 'see' events split seconds before they happened had so far allowed her to evade his shots, but she couldn't get in close as long as he kept firing. She dodged again, and he fired again, using his last round.

As she charged in, he tossed aside his gun and pulled out a knife of his own. She came up on him and they locked blades, Rose gritting her teeth, and Ravager chuckling, "You know, this isn't the best idea in the world... I'm stronger than you."

"That's what you think!" Rose shoved him back then came at him again. Ravager side stepped her and delivered an open handed chop to her neck, slamming her into the ground.

"Huh. I'll finish you in a moment." He stepped around her still form and walked over to where Hanna was trying to pull Ginger to her feet. "Now... one of you two is going to tell me where I can find Rebecca Pullman, or-" he paused as a silver loop of rope dropped over his shoulders and tightened around him, pinning his arms to his sides. Looking up, he saw Troia holding the silver lasso. "What the hell? Aren't you Wonder Woman's brat?"

"I'm twenty-two." she growled, "And you're threatening my friend."

"So what's with the lasso? You want me to tell the truth?"

"Something like that." Troia yanked the lasso and pulled him off the ground, swinging him away and hurling him towards the cafeteria. Pulling the rope back, she found that he'd slipped out of it, and was pulling himself to his feet.

She growled and coiled the lasso back up, re-attaching it to her belt. As she went to fly over to him, Rose jumped in front of her, "No! Get Hanna and Ginger to safety! Ravager is mine!" and she turned and dashed off towards the killer.

Troia looked over at the two frightened girls, then sighed. She flew to them and grabbed a hand each, "Hold on." she said, and flew up into the night.

* * *

"HA!" Jinx shouted as she blasted another ninja off his feet with a blast of pink hex bolt. "Come on you mother fuckers!"

Jumping forward, she grabbed on of the men's shoulders and rolled over his head in mid-air. Coming down on her feet, she pulled him up over her back and threw him at another ninja. She followed the momentum of her body and dove forward and down, escaping the sword swings of two more ninjas that came up on either side of her. Jinx planted her hands on the ground and twirled about on them, lashing out with her feet and knocking the two men away.

Coming up, she blocked a punch as Shrike came in at her, then jumped up and kicked off his chest, knocking him back. As she flipped over in mid-air, she released another blast of full force pink energy at the ground, causing the earth to give way and buckle under the feet of the ninjas. She landed and lashed out immediately, kicking another one of them in the face, and listening with satisfaction as his jaw snapped.

Twirled around to face Shrike once again, Jinx grinned.

BLAM!

"Agraa!" she stumbled forward, clutching at her back. She pulled a hand away and saw it was painted red with her own blood. She fell to her knees.

Deadshot walked into sight, holding a .357 revolver. He stopped next to Shrike and yanked the younger assassin to his feet. "I'm going in the back way here. Pullman is inside. I'll cap her. You deal with this." he planted the gun in Shrike's hand, "Don't screw this up, Boone."

"Yes Sir." Shrike nodded as Deadshot walked past Jinx. As the blonde haired girl staggered to her feet and tried to lunge for him, another shot rang out, and Jinx felt a bullet tear through her right shoulder. Shrike grinned at her as Deadshot walked through the door.

Jinx stumbled back and spoke weakly, "Wont let you... get away with this-"

BLAM!

She cried out again and fell back against the doors. The latest shot had tore into her side, and she could tell it had ruptured some fairly vital organs. She slid down to the ground, leaving a streak of bright crimson behind her.

Looking up through failing vision, Jinx saw Shrike standing over her, with the gun pointed down at her skull, "If it's any consolation, you fought very well."

He pulled the hammer back on the gun, and grinned.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

BLAM!

* * *

Closing Notes: Tune in next time to find out who lives, and who dies. But more importantly, find out who stays together, and who ends this story with a tearful breakup. 


	16. Under the Gun

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: This was an easy chapter to write. It's all coming to an end now, and I'll be posting the Epilog right after this chapter. Everyone... and I mean _everyone_ who reviewed demanded that I update again quickly. So here it is. I was also surprised by the number of death threats. You'd think you people had never read a cliffhanger before. Sheesh.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, or any other DCU characters.

* * *

_**Chapter Thirteen - Under the Gun**_

* * *

**__**

Team Leaders Log - February Fifteen

_I've never had such a long night in my life. There was so much fighting it all seems like a blur now. All I can really see is her blood... all that blood..._

_The League of Assassins made their move last night to correspond with the Valentines Day dance at the school. Shrike and his band of ninja mooks tried to get in the back way of the gym where the dance was being held and attack from behind. They would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Jinx._

_She held her ground against twelve trained killers and fought Shrike to a stand still, even after suffering several injuries. She took four bullets to protect over a hundred students and faculty members in the gym. _

_She held her ground. _

_And we'll never forget that._

* * *

"It was fun, cutie..." Shrike grinned.

"Bite me." Jinx muttered, spitting blood as she did.

BLAM! As Shrike's gun fired, a razor sharp bird-a-rang slammed into his hand, wedging it's self in the bone, and severing his index finger.

"GRAAA!" Shrike jerked the gun down as it went off, and Jinx slammed back against the door she was leaned against, the bullet pounding into the left side of her chest. The ninjas around Shrike all looked up in terror as a resounding shout echoed around them.

"JINX!" Robin descended from the top of the gym and landed fist first on Shrike. The yellow and red clad assassin went down in one blow, and Robin whirled around and hurled four explosive disks at the ninjas left standing.

As the four he'd been aiming at flew back from the force of the non-lethal explosives, the remaining three turned to run from Robin's wrath. Bolas took one down, a net flew over the next one, and the final ninja simply got a fist to the back of the head. Slowly, the Boy Wonder turned back and looked to the doors.

Starfire knelt next to Jinx, concern written plainly on her face. Robin dashed over and stooped down next to his girlfriend, handing her a gauze pad he pulled form his utility belt as he did, "Jinx? Can you hear me?"

"R-robin..." a weak hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder, "Deadshot... inside..."

"Oh no..." as he went to stand, her grip tightened. Looking back down at her, he saw a faint grin on her face.

"Happy... now?" she whispered.

"Good work, Jinx. Rest now."

"Holy shit!" Cyborg and Beast Boy came running up as Robin stood again. Cyborg's human eye widened and he quickly knelt next to the fallen Jinx, "No... not her... not like this..."

"Cy, call an ambulance and take her to it. Then get back in here." Robin started for the gym, "Star, Beast Boy, you're with me. Deadshot is inside, and-"

"Robin." Beast Boy grabbed his arm, "Hold on."

"We don't have time, Gar-"

"Rose Wilson is Slade's daughter."

Robin stood stock still for a full five seconds, then shook his head, "Then she can take care of herself. We need to stop Deadshot."

"I shall go with you. Would it not be prudent to keep Beast Boy out here, to assist Troia?" Starfire stood up as Cyborg lifted Jinx off the ground. The blonde haired girl moaned in pain.

"Fine. Let's go." Robin nodded to his team and they broke up. He and Starfire ran into the gym, Cyborg started moving as fast as he could to the nearest wall, and Beast Boy took flight as a hawk.

* * *

Rose kicked in the wreckage of her door and stepped into her room in the dorms. Most of the first floor had been destroyed in the blast Ravager had set off, but it hadn't compromised the structural integrity of the building overly much.

Striding across the room, the white haired girl pulled the broadsword down off the wall and hefted it. "Well Dad... looks like I get to bring a piece of you to this fight after all." Looking back over her shoulder at the cracked mirror that hung on the wall, she stared. Pushing her hair back behind her ears, she lifted on hand and covered her right eye with it.

After a moment, she shook her head, and dropped her hand. Rushing over to her desk, she opened a drawer, pulled out a 9mm hand gun, and tucked it into the waist of her pants. She then rushed out the door and back towards the cafeteria, where she knew her prey would still be lingering, waiting for her to come back.

* * *

Speedy and Merlyn both jerked their heads to the side as each other's arrows skimmed their cheeks, giving them identical wounds on the sides of their faces. Both reached back and grabbed new arrows at the same time, and both strung them and fired.

It all happened in less than two seconds, and when they fired the second round, they became opposites once again. Speedy's arrow was a non-lethal particle detonator, while Merlyn's was a barb tipped hunting arrow. The point blank expolsion blew them apart, and diverted the course of the deadly arrow into Speedy's shoulder, rather than his throat. Merlyn fell back off the building, and Speedy landed hard on his back a little ways away.

Groaning, he sat up and crawled over to his prone girlfriend, "Raven?" he gently slapped her cheek, "Come on, babe... wake up." His blood dripped on her face.

"Pfft!" Raven suddenly sat up, spitting out a little bit of his blood, "Okay, ew." rolling her neck, she lifted a shaking hand and wiped the gore away, "I love you, Roy, but I don't want to drink your blood."

"Some vampire you are..." he smiled weakly.

"You're hurt..." she scooted forward and inspected the arrow, "This is going to hurt."

"Just hurry. I dropped Merlyn off the building, but it'll take more than that to kill him."

Raven nodded and grabbed the arrow. Speedy cried out as she shoved it the rest of the way through his shoulder, then broke the shaft off. Working quickly, Raven took the barbed tip in her gloved hand and pulled the rest of the shaft through. Speedy grit his teeth and clenched his fists in pain.

"Almost done." Raven muttered, and gripped the bleeding wound. White energy surrounded it for a moment, then she slumped back. "I healed most of the damage, but I need to save my strength for other things tonight. You'll live."

"Thanks, Raven." Speedy kissed her briefly, "We have to find Merlyn. He's going to start killing people to get to Becka."

"He already has. The Chemistry teacher is dead down stairs."

"Fuck." Speedy stood up, "Can I get a lift down to the ground?"

"Of course." Raven took his hand and lifted off the roof, flying them off to find Merlyn.

* * *

Becka stood up from the prone form of a girl laying with the wounded in Janice's makeshift MASH unit in the gym. Tears slid down her face as she erased the girls name from the wounded list on her pad of paper, and added it to the deceased list.

Crouching next to the girl, Janice closed the still open eyes, and stood up, "We'll have Paul and Mike move her."

Ami padded over on bare feet, having long ago kicked off her four inch heals, "I'm worried about Jenny... she hasn't come back yet."

Becka wiped her eyes, "It's not safe to go out looking for her. We'll just have to trust that she can take care of herself."

"I'm going to check on Greg." Janice put a hand on Ami's shoulder, "She'll be fine."

"Still... I'd like to just take a look in the back hall. Just a peek to see if-"

A booming voice echoed throughout the gym, "Attention students!" Deadshot walked in from the back of the building, his arm gun raised and pointed at the room in general, "You have one minute to give me Rebecca Pullman, or I start executing you one by one."

Some of the students screamed, others started backing away from the assassin. Several people near Becka looked over at her with confused expressions.

"Don't even think about it." Ami shot a glare at a young man who was walking over with a determined look on his face. He paused as she scowled at him, then turned away.

"What do we do?" Becka asked her two friends, "We can't let him shoot any more people-"

"We do what we have to do." Ami smiled in a gentle manner, "Everyone needs the two of you here to make it through this. So I'll see ya' around."

"Ami, what are you talking about?" Becka looked frightened.

"Stay put." Ami smiled again, then dashed off quickly.

"She's not going to..." Becka watched as the red head ran towards Deadshot, then started forward, opening her mouth to shout.

A hand held her back. Looking over at Janice, Becka saw the tears in her eyes, "Don't."

"No... it can't... Ami..." Becka looked back to where the students were parting and letting Ami walk up to the large man in the red and silver suit.

* * *

Troia set Hanna and Ginger down on top of Westpost Hall and landed next to them. Ginger quickly sat down and held her wounded side, and Hanna stepped next to the older girl and spoke, "Donna, these guys are all over... they blew up part of the gym, and Becka's in there, and-"

"I know. I'm headed back to help Rose though... Robin and Starfire have the gym under control."

"Are you sure? What about Cassie and Jenny? Are they-"

"Raven informed us that the gym was secure for the time being, and that Jinx was staying there. Becka and the others will be fine." Troia touched her shoulder, "Now why do you have a sword?"

"Oh... uh..." Hanna quickly moved the weapon behind her back, and grinned sheepishly, "I was going to... help?"

"Hanna." Troia gave her a serious look, "I retiered from this line of work when I got pregnant. You shouldn't be risking your life or that of your child."

"Holy shit..." they both turned and looked at Ginger who was sitting and staring with wide eyes, "You're _pregnant?_"

Hanna rolled her eyes, "Christ. Thanks, Donna."

"Oops." Donna covered her mouth, "Sorry..."

"It's okay... just... go help Rose. I'm sure she'll need it against that Ravager guy."

"Okay. Stay safe." and Donna flew up into the starless night.

Hanna sighed and walked over to where Ginger was still staring at her, then sat down next to her. She leaned back and stared up at the cloudy sky for a few minutes, then spoke, "I was raped a few weeks ago when I snuck off campus to meet a guy. I got pregnant."

Ginger blinked once, then touched Hanna's arm, "Are you... I mean... I'm sorry, Hanna. For all the shit I've put you through recently."

"It's okay, Ginger. In light of recent events, it's a fairly forgivable offence."

"Still..."

"What ever happened to you, anyway?" Hanna asked as she lifted her sword and inspected the edge of it, "You were so nice and friendly when we started here four years ago..."

"I dunno." Ginger looked down at the rooftop, "I guess things just went to my head... this huge attack is all so big, and it's really... I've almost died three times tonight, and it's really made me realize what a bitch I've been... just because I'm rich."

"Well, you are pretty too, and you have a nice body... that probably didn't help you become less vain." Hanna smiled over at her.

"No, not really. I was going to go into modeling when I graduated you know... but now..."

"You still should." Hanna nodded, "You'd be good at it."

Ginger blinked, then smiled, "I guess. What are you going to do?"

"Fashion design, if I can... maybe I'll be a chef." Hanna placed a hand on her stomach, "A lot of my future is up in the air right now. This baby..." she trailed off and the two of them sat in silence for several minutes. After a time, there came the sound of foot steps behind them, and they both turned and looked with frightened faces.

A gunman had scaled the side of the building, and had a sniper rifle slung over his back. He had his SMG aimed at them, and a grin split his face while he walked over. "This whole mission is going to hell," he said, "but now I have two pretty girls who can tell me where I can find Rebecca Pullman..."

* * *

Rose crept silently through the cafeteria, her sword held low. She stayed close to the wall of the dining area, and kept her eyes wide open, taking in every detail of the place. The tables were still set up for the large dinner that had just been served, and the candles on them still burned. The lights had been shut off, so the small flickering flames were the only illumination in the room.

As she passed the last row of tables, she saw one of the servers that had been hired for the night laying on the ground in a puddle of blood. He'd been shot in the head, and she only had one guess at who had done it.

Blinking suddenly, she got a premonition and ducked. The wall where her head had just been exploded in a rain of plaster as she rolled forward, avoiding another gun shot as it came just a second afterwards. Coming up, she charge across the room, where Ravager was already pumping off another shot at her.

"Hnn!" she brought the sword up and caught the round on the blade, deflecting it to the side as she jumped up on a table, then out into the air, coming down at him with a lethal chop. Ravager held up his gun and blocked the blade, and Rose got right up in his face, "Give up, Wade. I can see your moves before you even make them."

"I know." Ravager pressed down on her, trying to aim the gun at her skull, "So keeping you close is the best way to kill you."

Rose let go of the sword and grabbed the gun. Flipping the safety on, she quickly pumped it three times, ejecting the last few shells that remained in it.

"Clever." Ravager wrapped a leg around hers and shoved back, knocking her to the floor. Rose grunted as she hit the ground, but reached behind her hand yanked out her gun as she did. Aiming it up at him, her eyes went wide.

Ravager had retrieved her sword and he swung it at her hand as she pointed the gun. She only got one shot off that went wild before he sliced the weapon clean in half, skinning her knuckles as he did. Rose back pealed, then flipped over on her hands and up off the ground, landing on a table.

Just as soon as she landed, she jumped again. Ravager was there a half second later, and he chopped the table in half. Rose landed in a crouch and glared up at him.

"This looks like one of my brother's collection... you haven't been stealing from your daddy now, have you Rose?"

"It was a gift. Wintergreen brought it to me when he got me out of the orphanage _you_ put me in when you killed my foster parents."

"Hmm." Ravager looked at the blade, "The first Ravager used a sword a lot like this one. I think I'll keep it. Doesn't it just irk you to no end that I used your dead brother's name, and now his fighting style too?" His face was covered so Rose couldn't see it, but she was sure he was smirking.

"I never even knew Grant. Or Joey." Rose scowled, "Dad never let us see each other."

"Is that bitterness I hear in your voice?" Ravager walked towards her slowly, "Do you hate your father just as much as I do?"

"No." Rose stood up, "No one hates Deathstroke as much as his little brother. You're such a third stringer... hell you're a fourth stringer. If someone can't afford Dad, they call Merlyn. If they can't afford him, then call Deadshot. If they can't afford Deadshot, then they call you." she smiled in a nasty manner.

"I'm still good enough to kill you, Rosie." Ravager darted in and sung at her again, and she dodged to the side. He lashed out with a kick and slammed her back across another table. She rolled off of it as he chopped through that one as well, then kicked her full on in the face.

Rose stumbled back, then fell down the hallway that led to the bathrooms. Rolling backwards, she came up on her feet in time to catch his shoulder as he charged into her, slamming her the rest of the way down the hall, and through the door that led into the maintenance closet.

"Ow..." she gasped as she lay amongst the splinters of the door and the smashed cleaning supplies. Ravager was charging her again, the sword up above his head, ready to end her life.

Dazed, she reached behind her and grabbed for something... _anything_ that she could used to deflect the blow. Her hands landed on two hilts, and she yanked out two long daggers. Crossing them in front of herself, she caught the slash and kicked out with both feet, slamming Ravager back out into the hall.

Quickly getting up, she glanced at the daggers and saw they were Damascus blades. Arching an eyebrow, she smiled, "Don't know where they hell these came from, but... nice."

Ravager was back on his feet as well, and he was ready for her as she came at him again, this time with spinning daggers and a deadly glint in her eye.

* * *

Speedy crept along silently, arrow strung and pulled taunt. As he moved away from the admin building, he sighted around for any hiding spots. A nearby tree looked like the only viable one, so it was most likely that Merlyn was there.

Breaking into a sudden sprint, he dashed a full revolution around the tree, then pointed his arrow straight up into the branches. Seeing nothing, he backed against the trunk, cursing under his breath for giving his position away so easily for a false lead.

Having trained around bows since he was just a small boy, Speedy was very aware of the sound of a speeding arrow. He ducked suddenly as another barbed tipped projectile buried its self in the tree where his head had just been. Cursing out loud this time, he followed the arrows trajectory and saw Merlyn changing position from one of the bushes that lined the path that led back towards Westpost Hall.

Breaking into a sprint again, Speedy started drawing and firing as he ran. Merlyn picked up the same tactic, and soon the air was full of explosive arrows, freezer arrows, and deadly sharp arrows.

Both archers knew their game wasn't going to last, so they closed the distance between them quickly. Then began a dance of close quarters bow combat.

Speedy fired an explosive into the ground, kicking up dirt and dust to obscure vision. Merlyn fired a tazer arrow that Speedy ducked and came back from with a sharp head aimed at the evil archers knee. That arrow was sidestepped, and as the dust began to clear, Merlyn drew an explosive of his own and fired it right at Speedy's feet.

More dirt and dust flew into the air, and the younger man was hurled back and to the ground. Rolling up, he dodged to the side just in time to avoid Merlyn coming out of the dust cloud with one of his sharper arrows in his left hand. The stab missed Speedy's throat, and caught him in the shoulder instead. He fell back and Merlyn pinned him with his slightly larger body.

"Got you, punk." the black archer dug the arrow in deeper and Speedy winced.

"Name calling... real professional."

"If the shoe fits, Speedy."

"I have a better name for myself." Speedy grinned up at Merlyn through a pain stressed face.

"Really? What's that?"

"Bait."

Merlyn paled as the area around them suddenly turned black as night. From the pools of darkness rose a blue cloaked demon with four red eyes burning form inside her drawn hood. Raven's cloak billowed out and covered the dark archer, who screamed as he was sucked away into her soul self.

"You shouldn't have threatened my friends." Raven's voice was dark, and rumbled with a hint of Trigon. "You. Will. Pay."

"MAKE IT STOP!" Merlyn's voice echoed from inside the folds of Raven's cloak, "PLEASE! NOOOOO!"

Speedy stood up and yanked the arrow out of his shoulder with a wince. As Merlyn's screams continued to grow fainter and fainter, he stood and watched his girlfriend slowly become herself again.

"I think that's enough." he said quietly.

Raven nodded and backed away, revealing a shivering Merlyn, his bow shattered and his arrows missing. He lay on the ground in the fetal position, eyes wide and brow wet with cold sweat.

"God damn, Rae... what'd you do to him?"

"Nothing more than what he deserved. We may not be able to kill these bastards, but we can leave them in a psychiatric ward for the rest of their lives with a clear conscious."

Speedy just nodded, "Whatever gets the job done. Now come on, we still have work to do."

* * *

Deadshot looked down as the petite form of Ami stepped up to him. Her belly was still bare, and she'd shortened her skirt by almost a foot from ripping bandages off of it. Her feet were bare, and without her heals she barely came up to his chest.

And she stared him right in the eye when she spoke, with a glare that could kill people.

"Becka Pullman isn't available just now. If you try back in a few hours, we might be able to arrange a meeting."

Spunky red heads were a favorite of Deadshot's, and this one looked to be about as spunky as they came. If he hadn't been working, he might have hit on her, even if she was young. Still, he had to admit she had more balls than all of the guys in the room put together.

"You got guts, kid." CLACK! He aimed his arm gun at her bare belly, "But you don't really deserve the glory of fighting with me. Simply solution? No guts, no glory."

BLAM! Ami dodged to the side before he even fired, and ducked in closer to him. The floor where she'd been standing blew apart into bits of wood, and she winced as she got splinters in the backs of her legs.

He was fast, and really, really strong. She could tell by the way he moved. Her experience with the street fighters had taught her a lesson though, and she was ready when he moved quickly enough to have his gun trained on her again. Shoving out her hands, she pushed the shot up towards the cieling, blowing out one of the lights and sending sparks raining down on them.

"This little toy of yours isn't very fair!" Ami spun around so her back was to him, and hugged the gun assembly he wore on his arm, "Let's even things up a bit!"

She yanked with all her might, pulling the gun down towards the ground, being sure to keep her legs and feet out of the way. He fired twice, and her arm was burned as the shells ejected from the side of the weapon. Gritting her teeth, she pulled harder, and felt several muscles in her arms and shoulders rip.

With a scream, she yanked the gun off of his arm.

Deadshot was surprised to say the least, but reacted quickly by slamming a metal clad fist into her face, sending her sprawling and splattering her blood across the floor. She rolled out of the fall, but came up dizzy and disoriented. Deadshot pressed his advantage.

A quick dash forward and he kneed her in the stomach. He followed with a downward chop to the back of her head, slamming her back to the ground again. Nudging her prone form with his foot, Deadshot growled and reached into one of the holsters on the back of his belt. Pulling out a 9mm GLOCK, he pointed it at the nearest person.

Which happened to be Maggie, still clutching Greg to her chest.

"Becka Pullman. Step forward now, or this girl dies."

A voice rang out "Okay! Fine!" Two girls came stumbling out of the crowd, the slightly taller darker haired one in the shimmery blue dress trying to hold the other girl, who wore a baby blue gown and had brown hair, back.

They struggled for a moment, then the brown haired girl who he now recognized as Becka Pullman shoved her friend away, "Get _off_ Janice!" she said, and walked forward quickly. She stopped in front of Deadshot and looked up at him, "I'm here. Just stop... don't hurt anyone else."

"Fine." he aimed the gun at the middle of her head, "You're brave for doing this. I'll let you die on your feet."

"Hey!" Under his mask, Deadshot's eye twitched. Turning and looking over his shoulder he saw the red head back on her feet. She was slumped forward a little, and slurred her words as she talked, blood dribbling down her chin, "You don' get ta' cap heer 'till we go anuthher round, ass wipe..."

"For the love of God." Deadshot tucked his gun back in the holster and charged Ami. "You're going down for good this time!"

"Don think so." Ami grinned as she fell forward and ducked, covering her head.

From behind her, Robin came soaring out of the darkness, and slammed his foot into Deadshot's face, shattering the aiming device that covered his right eye. The assassin fell back with a grunt, but rolled back up quickly, pulling the gun as he did.

"Everyone get down!" Robin shouted, and dodged the bullet as Deadshot fired. He dashed in close faster than Deadshot could react and kicked the gun away. Blocking the assassin's clumsy defensive punch, Robin scowled, "You're pathetic, you know that Lawton?"

"That's Deadshot, you snot nosed punk!"

"Floyd Lawton! Age 31! Never married, no kids. You've served three times on the Suicide Squad, but you've always come back alive." Robin blocked another punch, then kicked his opponent in the knee, knocking him to the ground, "Wanted for at least thirty-seven counts of murder, with several more suspected." Grabbing the metal mask Deadshot wore, Robin yanked it off, "You're going down, Floyd."

Deadshot's hand suddenly shot up, and he had a snub nosed .38 he kept as a holdout strapped to his leg pointed at Robin's nose, "Yeah?"

The gun was blasted from his hand by a green flash of light, and Starfire floated down, her eyes glowing and another starbolt charged on her hand and aimed at him head.

"Yeah." Robin replied in a grim tone, and slugged him in the temple. Deadshot went down without a sound.

Robin turned to Becka, "That was very brave of you." she smiled weakly as he grinned, "Never do it again."

"Right."

Janice was there then and hugging her friend, "Don't scare me like that! Holy shit! Ami!" and she dashed over to where the red head was trying to sit up, "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?"

Starfire floated over, "I have contacted the police. They are already here, and are rounding up the few remaining gunmen and sword wielding warriors still roaming the grounds."

"Good." Robin raised his voice, "Everyone! Stay calm! Help will be here shortly!"

* * *

An ambulance pulled up in front of the Westmarch Apartment building and two EMT's jumped out.

"Get the stretcher." the taller of the two said.

"On it. Do we even know what apartment this is?"

"No, but the report called in multiple gunshot wounds. Someone inside will know where to direct us."

"How many is multiple?"

"Four from what I hear. One in the chest."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

The wall that surrounded the school across from the apartment complex exploded out and both EMT's jumped and almost dropped the cot they were pulling from the back of the ambulance. As the dust cleared, the hulking form of Cyborg came striding towards them, his arms covered in blood, which was leaking from the wounds of the blonde haired girl he carried in his arms, "Don't just stand there!" he ordered, "This is your case!"

"Holy shit." the shorter one stated, and pulled the cot down the rest of the way. As Cy laid Jinx down on it, the two men checked her over quickly and then started to work. She looked up at him, remarkably still conscious, and whispered, "Go on. They need you."

"I'll be by the hospital as soon as this is over, Jenny." he gripped her hand briefly, then turned to the paramedic, "Save her man."

"We'll do our best, Sir."

_"Please." _The EMT looked up and saw the strain on the metal Titans face and his resolve doubled.

"Count on it. We've got her now."

Cyborg nodded, then turned and ran back through the hole he'd made in the wall.

* * *

Hanna and Ginger were backed all the way to the edge of the roof on Westpost Hall. They were staring over at the sniper who had scaled the building, who had his SMG trained on them, and an evil grin on his face.

"Come back over here. You two are my ticket out of this place, and out into freedom."

"Go to hell." Hanna spat.

"Uh, Hanna? Maybe we should just listen to him?" Ginger glanced behind herself and looked away from the three story fall quickly, "It's a long way down this way."

"I wont be helpless again. Not to this fuck, and not to any man, ever again." Hanna brandished her sword, "I'll knock both of us off this roof before I let him take us."

The man pointed his gun at her head, "Then you die, and I use her."

Hanna tensed, and prepared to jump off the building. She paused when a shadow appeared over the gunman. He looked up and his eyes grew wide.

A four hundred pound green mountain gorilla slammed down into him from where it had been a falcon just moments before. The man hit the roof and moaned, but didn't stir.

Beast Boy became himself again, "Heh. Got the saving bit right this time, huh?"

He was bowled off his feet as Hanna threw herself into his arms. She pressed her lips to his, then burst into tears.

"Hey... shhh..." Beast Boy kissed her cheek, then her forehead, then hugged her close, "I'm here now. It's okay."

Ginger limped over and looked on in awe as Beast Boy sat up and cradled Hanna to him, letting her cry into his neck. The blonde haired girl he held sobbed and choked out words, "Oh Gar... I was so scared... but I tried to stand up for myself... I tried..."

"You did a great job, Hanna. You stared that guy down, and I could see you were ready to jump. Robin is barely that brave."

"You... know him?" Ginger looked a little flabbergasted, "How do you know all these people?"

"Through me." Ginger whirled around in time to see Raven materialize from the form of a dark bird of prey. The black haired Titan had her hood pulled down, and she glared.

_"Cassie?" _Ginger fell back to her rear.

"No." She pointed at herself, "Raven."

"Holy shit."

"Actually, it's pretty unholy." Raven walked over to Beast Boy and Hanna, "How is she?"

"She's fine." Beast Boy replied, "She's one hardcore bitch, I can tell you that." Hanna giggled through her tears, and held on to him tighter.

"Good." Raven turned to Ginger, "You're wounded."

"Yeah. I got shot trying to help Hanna take out one of those gun toting creeps."

Raven blinked, "I see. My opinion of you has just gone up slightly. I'll take you to the medics. Garfield?"

"Yeah?"

"Get Hanna to the gym. Becka and Janice are still there."

"What's the situation down there?"

"We're cleaning up. Have you seen Rose or Troia? Both are still MIA."

Hanna looked up, "Rose is off fighting some guy called the Ravager, and Donna went to see if she could help."

"Where?" Raven asked, pulling out her communicator.

"The cafeteria."

Flipping open the device, Raven spoke into it, "Robin. Rose is at the cafeteria, and Troia should be there too."

_"I'm on my way there then."_

"Be careful. There may be a hostile around as well."

_"Noted. Have you found Beast Boy?"_

"He's here with Hanna. You can tell Becka and Janice to rest easy."

_"They heard. Robin out."_

Raven snapped her T-Comp shut, then turned to Ginger as Beast Boy helped Hanna to her feet, "Come on. Let's get you patched up."

* * *

Ravager blocked another dagger swipe, then swung the sword around and slapped one of the blades from Rose's hand. She came in at him with the other one and he was force to fall back to gain the advantage of the broadsword's greater reach again.

"Give it up, Rose. I'm just a better fighter than you."

"I don't think so." Rose scowled, "We've been at this for almost ten minutes now, and I seem to be forcing your retreat."

"Shame you didn't see this one coming then." Ravager sounded amused as he swung the sword up and cut down a large sash that was attached to the wall as decoration for the dinner that night. The heavy cloth fell down on Rose and she slashed through it quickly. By the time she'd freed herself though, he was already on her.

The other dagger was slapped from her hand with the flat of the blade, then he had the tip of her own sword pressed against her throat. "I've waited a long time to take one of my brother's kids away from him... too bad for you you're easier to find than Jericho."

A shout drew their attention away and Troia came flying across the room. Ravager swung the sword around at her, but she deflected the blade with her silver gauntlets. Grabbing hold of him, the dark haired heroin hurled him across the room, "All yours, Vic."

Cyborg was standing in the path of the flying man, and used both of his hands to slam him in a different direction and into the wall, which caved halfway in when he hit it. Ravager moaned and tried to pull himself out of the small hole.

"Damnit!" Rose struggled to her feet and walked to where he had dropped her sword. Picking it up, she glared at the two heroes, "I would have been fine. This is _my_ fight. Go away."

"We can't let you kill him." Troia stepped in front of her, "And I'm betting you'll have a harder time fighting me than you had fighting him."

"We'll see." Rose lifted to sword.

"Okay... lets all just calm down now, and-" Cyborg didn't get the rest of his sentence out. A metal disk slid into the room in the middle of all of them, and exploded out into a burst of yellow smoke.

Cy checked the read out on his arm display and his human eye grew wide, "I'm getting high levels of Halothane! Everyone hold... your... breath..."

Rose dropped her sword as she fell to the ground, and Troia collapsed a second latter. Cyborg staggered forward, but he too fell to the knock-out gas with a resounding crash.

A dark figure wearing a gas mask walked through the yellow smoke, and stopped next to Rose. Leaning down, it picked up the sword and slid it into a sheath on it's back, where the blade fit perfectly. Lifting Rose from the ground next, the figure slung her over it's shoulder, then moved over to Ravager.

It seemed to consider something for a moment, then lifted him off the ground as well.

* * *

Robin dashed across the grounds of the school, but slowed to a stop when he saw the gas pouring from inside the cafeteria. As he watched, a dark figure carrying two other forms stepped out of the building. It looked over at him, and one eye glinted from the nearby lamp that lit the path.

"I wish I could stay and talk, Robin, but I have things to do." The Boy Wonder narrowed his eyes at the dark man, "Another time, perhaps."

"If you've hurt any of my team, Slade-"

"They're fine, Robin. Now, I really must be going." And he turned and dashed off into the darkness, vanishing before Robin could follow.

With a grim look on his face, Robin pulled a re-breather out of his belt and put it in his mouth. He dashed into the building to see if his arch enemy had been telling him the truth.

* * *

Becka walked through the small army of medics and police officers, and straight to where her boyfriend was sitting, getting his arm wrapped up. "Hey." she said as she came up to him.

Chad looked at her, and his face fell, "Becka... I..."

"What's wrong?" she took another step forward and he frowned at her.

"I... I'm sorry."

"For what? Chad, what's-"

"I can't do this."

Becka paled, "What?"

"This whole thing... I don't want to die, Becka. I like you... I really do, but-" he winced as the medic clipped the temporary bandage shut, "I just... I'm sorry. I can't see you anymore."

With that, he turned and crawled into the ambulance he was sitting on the back off. The medic closed the doors, nodded to Becka with a solemn look on his face, and walked to the drivers side.

As the vehicle drove off, Becka stood stock still, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

Speedy leaned over Cyborg's shoulder as the robotic Titan sat in the T-Car. They were staring at a computer screen as Cy typed away.

"So... you found it, right?" the archer asked.

"Yeah. The searches I had going finally traced the path of the bounty posting back to Sivana Industries. They've always been a bit shady, but this is big even for them. Their assets have already been frozen, and a Federal strike team from the FBI already raided their HQ upstate."

"Sweet. So the mission is over."

"Yeah. The Senator better be happy. A lot of kids died tonight."

"Because we didn't act fast enough." Robin walked over and stood next to Speedy, "We got pantsed."

"We were hit by surprise by highly trained killers, Robin." Speedy rolled his eyes, "We're lucky to be alive."

"Yeah, well those kids that are being carted to the morgue right now weren't so lucky, were they?"

"Dick..." Speedy rubbed his eyes.

"Come on, Robbie." Cy stood up out of the car, "I know we screwed up. And people died. But we saved tons more."

"Doesn't make it right." Robin shook his head, "I'm headed back to the Tower. I need to start my report."

As he walked away, Speedy rubbed the back of his head, "He'll never change."

"Let's hope not." Cyborg replied, and looked down at his friend. Speedy looked back up for a moment, then sighed, "Yeah."

* * *

Raven stood with Janice, Hanna and Beast Boy as they crowded around the cot Ami was reclining on, "I can't believe you disarmed Deadshot." Raven shook her head.

Ami winced as she tried to laugh, "He broke three of my ribs, if it makes it any more believable."

"Only kinda." Hanna waved a hand from side to side.

Janice leaned down and kissed Ami's forehead, "You're the bravest person I've ever known, Amelia."

"Thanks." Ami held her best friends hand and looked past her. She frowned, "Hey... Becka, what's wrong?"

Becka had walked up behind them, and sniffled as they all turned to see her. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I'll tell you later." Raven stepped next to her and touched her arm. Becka saw the knowing look in her eyes and smiled a watery smile. "It's okay, Cassie."

"We'll talk later." Raven said, and turned back to the group at large, "Ami has to get going to the hospital now. Cyborg is on his way over to see Jinx soon, so if anyone wants a ride, he can take you."

"I think we'll all be going." Hanna leaned against Beast Boy, "Wonder if they'll have any extra beds..."

"You're getting a full once over when we get there." Raven told her firmly, "You're pregnant, Hanna. Stress like this can do bad things to babies."

The blonde sighed a long suffering sigh, "Fine... I guess I'll have to get used to being treated like I'm made of glass."

They all chuckled (except Ami, who just winced as she tried) and let the medic take Ami away. As they walked towards the T-Car, Janice poked Raven in the side, "So... now that you're done serving and protecting Becka... what's up with you and Speedy?"

"I think we're going to try for a relationship." Raven blushed lightly, "He might even move out here."

"That's be cool." Beast Boy nodded with a grin, "Someone else I can thrash in _Super Monkey Ninja Battle Seven_."

"Please," Hanna pinched his side, "don't mention ninjas."

* * *

Robin sat at the main computer, typing away at his after-action report. He hit the keys a little harder than he really needed to, and scowled every time he had to write the word 'casualty.'

He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't sense the presence behind him until two hands rested on his shoulders. Robin jumped a little and looked up. His face relaxed when he saw his girlfriend floating above him, "Hey Kori. You surprised me."

"Richard... you did the best you could."

He sighed and peeled off his mask. Looking back up at her with naked blue eyes, he frowned, "There's always more, Kori. We could have done more."

"At great personal cost." she frowned at him, "Richard, those young men and woman who died... they were innocent victims. Innocent, but still _victims._ You did not pull the trigger."

Sighing again, Robin looked back at his report. After a moment, the doors to the room opened, and Donna flew in. She looked upset, but when she saw the two of them, she calmed down. "Oh good. I was coming here to beat some sense into him, but I see you've got things well in hand, Kori."

"I do. Thank you for your concern though, Donna."

"Yeah, yeah." Donna smiled a little, "Carry on."

"Donna!" Robin stood up and smiled at Starfire, then turned back to the dark haired girl as she paused at the door that lead out of the room.

"Yeah?"

"Even if we dropped the ball out there, one undeniably good thing did come of this mission." He walked over to her.

"What's that?" she arched an eyebrow.

"The Titans gained a great new member." and he handed her a shiny new T-Comp, "It's got all the full functions your temporary one didn't have."

Donna stared at it for a moment, then took it from his with a grin, "Alright. I accept."

"Oh, joyous!" Starfire flew across the room and hugged them both together, "I am most elated that you will be joining us here at the Tower, Friend Donna!"

"Star!" Robin choked out as Donna gagged, "Can't... breath!"

* * *

Somewhere, in a dark room, Rose woke up. She stayed perfectly still until she became aware of another two people breathing in the room with her. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked around.

She couldn't make out much detail, but what she did see right away was a man with a white head of hair and a neatly trimmed beard to match it. His right eye was covered by a patch, and he wore a light smile on his face. "Hello, Rose."

"Dad?" she sat up and winced. With the adrenalin out of her system, she was starting to feel her minor injuries, "Where are we?"

"A safe house of mine in Jump. I didn't want to move you too far." he turned and looked across the room, "That and we had some extra baggage."

Rose followed her father's gaze and saw the Ravager, his mask removed, tied to a chair under a lamp on the far side of the room. He was slowly coming awake.

"Wha... where am I?"

"In the one spot you never wanted to be in, Wade."

Wade's eyes shot over and grew wide when he saw the two Wilsons, "Slade! What are you-"

"Shut up, Wade." Slade snapped, then turned back to his daughter, "Rose... I've never been a good father to you... to any of my children. Joey is lost to me now, Grant is dead..." he looked away, "You're all I have left."

"I don't understand." Rose shook her head, "What are you saying Dad?"

"That I want to start making it up to you. I want to train you, Rose. I want you to work with me."

"What?" Rose's eyes widened, "I... Dad, I can't, I'm not an assassin!"

"Neither am I." Slade reached out and handed her a handgun, "We can erase the memory of the Ravager's, Rose, and start their legacy over with you... we can be a family."

"I..." Rose stared at the firearm, then up at Slade, "I don't know what to... I..." she looked back to Wade, and her eyes suddenly grew cold, "I... can't."

Slade's eyes widened, "Rose, please-"

"I can't use the gun. Give me your sword."

Slade looked surprised for a moment, then set the gun aside. He drew the sword from his back and handed it to her.

"Good." she started to walk over to Wade, "I want this to go slow."

"No... Rose, I'm you uncle!" Wade's eyes grew wide with fear, "Rose! ROSE!"

* * *

Janice, Hanna and Becka were all seated in the back of the T-Car as Cyborg drove to the hospital. Speedy sat in the front seat, and Beast Boy and Raven both flew ahead of them. They chatted quietly for a few minutes, then Hanna spoke up, "So... what ever happened to Rose?"

Speedy looked over at Cyborg, who didn't look away from the road. "Someone came and took her and the Ravager. Used gas to knock out Donna and me, then scooped them up and left."

"So... they just knocked you out and took off? Why'd they only take those two?" Becka looked curious, "Do you have any idea who it was?"

"Yeah." Cyborg glanced at Speedy, "I think that's pretty obvious."

* * *

In the darkness of Slade's safe house, Rose stood in her father's embrace. Slade held her close to his chest, and smiled over her head at the still form of his half brother.

They stood in silence, the only sound in the room coming from the blood dripping off the tip of the sword that protruded from Wade's back.

"I just want to be loved..." Rose murmured.

"I do love you Rose." Slade held her tighter, "And we're a family now. Now... and forever."

* * *

Closing notes: All loose ends tied up in the Epilog. Keep reading! 


	17. Epilog

Re-Educating Miss Roth

A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald

Opening notes: This is it. The last one. It's been a long trip up to here, but I'm sure you're impatient, so read on, and I'll see you at the end.

* * *

_**Epilog**_

* * *

**__**

_Four months later._

* * *

Ami yawned hugely as she walked down the hallway of the second floor dorms on the WJCIE campus. They'd been rebuilt amazingly fast, as most of the damage had been centralized on the first floor. The contractors had re-plumbed the walls, stood them up straight, and pronounced that the building would stand for another hundred years or so.

It was a Saturday, and it was still early, so no one was up yet except for the red head. She padded along quietly past Hanna and Becka's room, and down the hall, past the common room. She stopped at the second to last door in the hall, just down from the showers, and pushed it open.

Room 204.

The shades were drawn, so it was dim inside, but Ami could make out the form on the far bed just fine. She glanced over at the perfectly made, un-touched bed on the side of the room closer to the door, and frowned lightly. _She'd_ been out all night again, and had probably gone back to her _first _home with her boyfriend.

Walking across the room, she gave the gently breathing form under the sheets a solid thump with her fist, and giggled when the girl underneath thrashed around for a moment, then sat up, breathing hard.

"Christ, Ami!" Jinx scowled at her, "You _could_ just shake me or something..."

"You sleep like a corpse, Jenny." Ami rolled her eyes, "Come on. It's time to start."

"Okay, okay..." Jinx grumbled as she got up out of bed and glanced over across the room, "Cassie not come back last night?"

"Guess not. She's not out in the common room, so I'm guessing she went back to the Tower."

"Damn... fourth time this week... that girl has got to be the most horny wench on the planet." Ami grinned as Jinx pulled on some loose fitting workout clothes, then stretched a little, "Okay, let's go."

* * *

The two of them left the room and headed for the stairwell. They went down, and left the dorms as well, stepping out into the bright morning sunshine, "Mmm..." Ami stretched, "What a perfect day for the ceremony."

"Couldn't really ask for better weather, huh?" Jinx stretched out her calf muscles, then did some trunk rotations, "Two laps around campus today? We don't want to be too worn out this afternoon."

"Yeah, that's cool." Ami nodded, "How was yesterday? Four laps looked like it took a lot out of you."

"Lung capacity is still down. I mean, I'm missing thirty percent of my right lung, so that's not that weird really, but I should be better than I am." Jinx finished stretching as Ami jogged in place. "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

Raven opened her eyes slowly as the sunlight hit her face. She winced and brought a hand up to block out the brightness, "Damn... Roy, what are you doing?"

"It's nine." he replied, looking out the window of his room in the Tower and smiling, "You wanted me to get you up."

"Oh... right, the ceremony." Raven sat up and took in her boyfriends lean body. He was wearing only his boxers, which were red with little golden arrows crossed on the right leg. There were several scars covering his legs and back, but she didn't seem to notice them. "Damn. You're hot."

Roy snorted and looked back at her as she stretched. The sheets feel away from her and her bare body was revealed. He arched an eyebrow as he walked over to the bed, "Speak for yourself. I'll never get sick of seeing you naked."

"Hmm..." Raven wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her. They lay back on the bed and she kissed him, "How about you show me how glad you really are to see me naked?"

Roy grinned and attacked her neck with light nips of his teeth.

* * *

As Ami and Jinx did their cool down stretches in the common room of the second floor, the red head spoke up, "You up for a little sparing? I want to see if I've got the new moves you showed me last time down."

"Not today." Jinx smiled at her, "Why don't you get Janice up? I think I'm going to head over to the Tower for a bit more of a hard core workout before I have to sit through Mrs. Cain droning on about our futures and the real world."

"Be nice. She was very accommodating of you and Cassie after the attack."

"She still bores me to tears. And makes me dye my hair blonde." Jinx flipped said blonde locks out of her eyes, "Cassie will be by shortly, I'm sure. Tell her I'll be back on time."

"Like she'd believe that." Ami grinned as Jinx walked to the coffee table and picked up a set of keys that was sitting there.

The key chain had a Jaguar dangling from it.

* * *

Becka yawned as she sat up in bed, and looked across the room as she did every morning, to see if Hanna was up yet. She arched an eyebrow.

Hanna was sitting in her bed, legs spread out in front of her, twirling the throwing star Raven had taken out of her shoulder on one finger, and staring up at the ninja sword mounted on the wall above the desk.

"Thinking about killing someone?"

"Yeah. The bastard that got me pregnant. I didn't sleep at all last night." Hanna set the sharp weapon aside and let her hand fall to her slightly rounded belly, "Junior can't kick yet, but boy can he make my life miserable."

"He?" Becka arched an eyebrow.

"Oh!" Hanna climbed out of bed and walked to her dresser. She grabbed an large envelope there and opened it, pulling out some pictures. She sat down on Becka's bed and showed them to her, "Yesterdays ultrasounds. See this?"

"Yeah?" Becka squinted at the picture, "Is that...?"

"That's my little man's growing manhood." Hanna grinned, "I'm gonna' have a little boy."

"Hanna, that's great!" Becka hugged her, "I mean, I would have said the same thing about a girl, but, yeah! That's awesome!"

Hanna just laughed and hugged her friend back.

* * *

When Ami got back to her room, she saw Janice was up and reading her e-mail on her laptop. "Anything good?" she asked as she stripped off her sweaty shirt.

Janice didn't even glance away from the screen at her friend taking off her clothes, "Mama sent me a message telling me that her and Daddy would both be here. I guess neither one of them is coming with anyone, so that's a relief at least."

"That's good." Ami pulled on a robe, "My parents will be here too, and my step-mom. I talked to Hanna about this last night..."

"Her parents aren't coming, are they?"

"I guess not. They weren't kidding when they said they were disowning her for sneaking out and getting knocked up."  
"But, her sister?"

"She'll be here. That's good, at least. Hanna really loves her."

"Yeah." They lapsed into silence for a moment, then Janice spoke up again, "You think all the Titans will come?"

"Yeah." Ami nodded, "They're Cassie's family, after all."

"What about Jenny? Any family of hers coming?"

"Her 'family' is all locked away in prison right now." Ami grinned, "She didn't seem too broken up about it. 'As long as Vic is there, I'm cool.' Her exact words."

"Heh." Janice stood up and closed her laptop, "Wait up. I'll go with you to the showers."

"I'm not letting you grope me in the shower today." Ami rolled her eyes.

"Just like you weren't going to let me do it yesterday? Or the day before?"

"Well, when you jump in my stall and tackle me, it's kind of hard to have it any other way." Ami sighed, "I don't know why I put up with you sometimes."

"Because I'm so damn cute." Janice grinned and grabbed her shower basket.

* * *

"Hey, Jenny! Wait up!" Jinx turned around and saw Maggie jogging across the faculty parking lot towards her. The young woman's brown hair was tied back, still long and straight, but framing her face it looked a hundred times different. She wore no glasses, having switched to contacts, and her blue eyes sparkled as she grinned. "Going to the Tower?"

"Yeah." Jinx nodded, "Just to work out for a bit."

"Not to see Cyborg?" Maggie nudged her with an elbow.

"Maybe." Jinx grinned.

"Heh." The brown haired girl kicked at the ground, and inspected the leg of her flare bottom jeans, "Mind if I hop a ride into town?"

"I'm not suppose to take other students off campus." Jinx shook her head, "It's one of the only reasons Cain let's me keep the car in the first place."

"Aw! It's the last day of the year, Jen! You took Hanna with you yesterday!"

"I took Hanna to the doctor, where she had ultrasounds for her _baby._" Jinx rolled her eyes, "You and Greg getting frisky? I can take you too if you want."

Maggie giggled and blushed, "We haven't gone that far yet."

"Yet. I like that." Jinx winked, "You should."

Maggie rolled her own eyes at that, then grabbed the blonde's arm, "Come on, Jen. I need a quote from a particular book, and I know just the store to get it at."

"Maggie, this school has one of the best libraries in the state. Are you telling me that you can't find this book there?"

"Well, I could. But you have a flippin' sweet car."

Jinx grinned and hit the unlock button on her key chain remote. Three cars down, a sleek black Jaguar made a quick BL-BLEEP! and the headlights flashed. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? Come on."

The two girls gigged and walked briskly to the car.

* * *

At 9:48, Hanna and Becka emerged from their room, chatting about boys names.

"What's wrong with Garfield?" Hanna asked.

"It's your boyfriends name. And it sounds silly."

"He's not my boyfriend. And it does not."  
"You've been out on like, seven dates now. He's your boyfriend. And it does too."

"I'll agree with Becka." Raven said from the couch in the common room, "Gar's name isn't suitable for anyone other than green pranksters and fat cats."

The two girls stopped and stared at the spread of food laid out on the coffee table. Raven grinned back at them and motioned at the watermelon slices, and the bagels with plenty of almond cream cheese, "Eh?"

Hanna darted forward and grabbed a slice of melon, "You're my favorite hero, ever."

"Almond cream cheese again?" Becka made a face, "Did you bring anything that's not Hanna-pregnancy-craving food?"

Raven held up a bag of food, "I picked up McMeaty's on the way over."

"Sweet." Becka grinned, snatched the bag away. She plopped down on the sofa next to the Titan, who was dressed in jeans and a dark blue baby-tee.

"So," Hanna said between bites of melon, "You get laid last night?"

"We were beat last night, actually." Raven shook her head with a smile. "We had a train-jacking, then a robbery at the Point Noir Gallery. We were cleaning up and filing reports until almost 3:00 am."

"So you had sex this morning then?" Becka asked with a mouthful of breakfast sandwich.

Raven blushed and her two friends cracked up.

* * *

Ami smiled and rolled her shoulders as the hot water washed over her. Ever since she and Jinx had both been hurt so badly, they had been recovering together. It was a miracle Jinx was even anywhere near as well as she was, considering the extent of her injuries, but Ami felt that she herself was doing pretty good too.

Her smile slipped a little as she thought of all the faces she wasn't going to see at the graduation ceremony that day, and of all the friends she was going to miss. As she and her friends headed off to collage, their lives were going to get far more complicated, and carrying the kind of baggage they were now, things were going to be all that much more difficult.

She outright frowned as she thought of difficulty. The most difficult thing in her life right now was in fact her own best friend. Janice had been pretty broken up over her parents divorce, then over all the lives she failed to save the day of the attack. The two of them had spent a lot of time together over the past few months, first while she herself was in recovery, then later, talking things out and becoming closer than ever.

The difficult part came in when Ami found herself craving more and more time with her roommate. Ever since she had found out Janice was gay, she'd always been a little self conscious about changing in the same room as her, but now she almost felt like she was intentionally putting on a show just to tease her. And Janice's trips to her shower stall had started to become more frequent, which would have made her freak out in past years.

Now she found herself anticipating and enjoying each encounter more and more.

What was going on with her? She didn't seem to be attracted to any other girls, and boys still made her hot and bothered, but Janice... seemed different. They knew almost everything about each other, and she really loved the girl with all her heart.

Her thoughts were interrupted as cool air washed across her back. She started to turn with a grin as the door to her shower stall opened, but didn't get all the way around before a giggling Janice slid in and plowed into her. Ami lost her footing, and the two of them slipped and fell to the floor with a grunt from both of them.

"Damnit, Jan!" Ami winced as she felt the stinging in her back.

"Oh damn! Ami! Are you okay? Did you hurt your ribs again?" she slid her hands down her friends sides, "Does that hurt?" Ami knew it was just a brief medical exam, but suddenly Janice's hands were driving her wild, "Here..." Janice helped her sit up and squatted over her. She ran the tips of her fingers down Ami's spine and leaned close to her, concern written on her face, "Tell me when I hit the sore spot."

Ami's half lidded eyes fixed on Janice's lips and watched them move as the southern girl said, "Ami? Are you okay? Did you hit your head?"

"Janice..." she murmured, and reached up with her own hands, taking her friends face with her fingers, "Come here..." and she pulled Janice down and kissed her.

Janice's eyes flew wide open and she pulled away, "Ami! You must have hit your head harder than I thought! I-"

"Shut up, Jan." Ami grabbed her and pulled her down so their wet bodies were pressed together under the hot shower spray. She crushed her mouth to her roommates, and held on tightly. Janice moaned a little, then gave in and deepened the kiss, letting her hands trail back up Ami's sides and around her front, teasing her nipples, then tangling in her hair. Ami loosened her hold, and Janice pulled back, letting one hand drop down between them.

As she snaked her fingers between Ami's legs, the red head gasped into her mouth, then moved down to kiss her neck. Licking the dripping water from Janice's pale skin, she moaned, "Don't... fucking... stop..."

* * *

After dropping Maggie off at the bookstore she wanted to browse and making sure she had enough money to get a cab back to the school, Jinx continued on her drive to the Tower. The mid-morning traffic was heavy in Jump on Saturdays, so it was a lot of stop and go. Jinx just rolled down the windows and blasted Bon Jovi through the killer system Cyborg had insisted be installed in the Jag.

"Your looove is like _bad_ medicine!" Jinx howled along with the song as she drove towards the intersection of Main and Tower drive, where she would take a left and head to the bay, "_Bad medicine _is what I _need_! _Whoa oh oh_! Shake it up! Just like _bad_ medicine! There aint no doctor that can _cure _my disease!"

As she made it up to the intersection, a shadow fell across the street in front of her and she slammed on her breaks, jerking forward in her seat. A moment later, the hulking for of Adonis slammed into the pavement, and the young man inside the powered suit groaned. Jinx blinked, then leaned out the window, looking up into the sky.

Troia flew down at a rapid pace and slammed a fist into the jock-wannabe's chest plate, then jumped back and smiled as he tried to sit up again.

"Just stay down." the beautiful black haired Titan winked, "You don't need me to emasculate you anymore in front of noon-day traffic, do you?"

"You little bitch!" Adonis struggled to sit up, but found he was stuck in the small crater he'd been pounded into when Troia had hit him. "I'm gonna get you! I'm gonna-"

Troia reached out and ripped the crotch out of his body armor.

Adonis whimpered and his eyes filled with tears, "I think I'd like to go to jail now."

"That's more like it. Strip." Troia pointed at him, and he started disengaging his armor.

Jinx whistled out a low note, "Damn, Donna. You keep your men on a short leash don't you?"

"I'm ashamed to admit it." the dark haired woman walked over to the Jag, "How've you been? I haven't seen you in a few weeks."

"End of semester exams and stuff. I think I scraped by, but it's gonna be a close thing with all the make up work I had to do after being in the hospital for so long."

"I can't wait to see you in your robes this afternoon." Donna looked over at the skinny form of Adonis as he pulled himself out of the suit and dropped to the ground. Looking frightened of the almost six foot tall woman in the starry black body suit. "I've gotta get this guy booked and jailed. See ya later, Jenny."

"Yeah... hey, you know any good ways to get to the Tower from here? You just trashed the intersection."

Donna blinked and looked back at the ruined road, and the traffic backing up in all four directions, "Oops."

* * *

Hanna laughed out loud as Raven talked, "So then Robin says, 'I'm sorry Starfire, but he has to go.' It could have been that Silkie had eaten several holes in the tower, or that he was a seven hundred pound larva, but I personally think it was because the worm had tried to eat his cape."

Becka and Hanna howled with laughter, and Raven smirked. Oh the sweet, sweet revenge for all those years of merciless training and cold hearted determination to keep his team working hard. Robin's exploits would be laid bare to all her friends from now until doomsday.

As they calmed down and continued to eat bagels and watermelon, they heard the door to the showers open, then close. A flushed looking Ami staggered past them, clutching her bathrobe tight about her neck. She spared the three girls a glance, then her face turned so red it practically matched her hair. She rushed the rest of the way to her room, and slammed the door behind her.

"Um... what the hell was that about?" Becka looked over at Raven, whose eyes were wide. She was looking down the hall the way Ami had come from, as Janice slowly walked into view, looking thoughtful, happy, and scared shitless all at the same time.

"Seven hells..." Raven whispered, and locked eyes with the southern girl, "Did you... I mean... holy fuck Jan."

"Uh..." Janice smiled weakly, "Ah think ah'd best go tahk ta' Aymae. We... uh..." Janice shut her mouth, blushed, and hurried after her roommate. The door to their room opened, then slammed again.

Hanna blinked, then looked at Raven, "Please tell me they didn't just have sex in the shower room."

Raven frowned at her, "You two might want to avoid the wet stalls when you take your showers today."

Hanna and Becka both paled, looked at each other, then grinned, "Finally." they said in unison.

* * *

Jinx walked into the living room of Titans Tower and blinked when she saw Beast Boy and Cyborg playing Dance Dance Revolution. Every step Cy took shook the Tower, and Beast Boy kept shifting into various animals with different numbers of legs to keep up with the high tempo of the game.

"What's 'a matter, Green Geans?" Cyborg grinned, "My titanium butt too fast for ya'?"

Beast Boy became himself again and kept dancing, "Yeah right! You're gonna' eat those words when you see my octopus style!"

"You guys are such dorks." Jinx commented.

Both continued to dance, and Cyborg called over his shoulder, "But we're cute dorks who kick major bad guy ass. You remember that, don't you?"

"Oh, that was just cold." Jinx grinned, "I'm gonna be in the gym. See ya."

"Later!" they both called, and Jinx shook her head as she walked to the elevator and waited for it to come. When the doors opened, she looked up to see Starfire standing inside, dressed in cut off jeans and a skimpy tank top. Her feet were clad in flip flops, and her hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Jinx arched an eyebrow.

"Hello, Jennifer!" Starfire smiled and held up a basket she was holding, "I am going to tend to the flowers about the island! Would you care to join me in my botanical venture?"

"Uh..." Jinx stepped on to the elevator and grinned, "Sorry Kori, but my thumbs are about as green as the sky."

"But the sky is blue."

"So it is." Jinx smiled wider.

Starfire blinked at her, "Please... Garfield's thumbs are green... would he be better suited to assist me in my gardening?"

"Uh... no, Kori. Having a green thumb means to be good at taking care of plants. It's just an expression."

"Oh!" Starfire smiled brightly, "I have never heard that particular colloquialism before! I will have to enter it into my list of Earth expressions once I return to my room!"

Jinx grinned weakly, "You do that."

* * *

Janice stood with her back to the door of the room she shared with Ami, staring at the red head, who was sitting at the desk brushing out her shoulder length hair. The southern girl was panting from the quick sprint, but her breathing evened out by the time Ami had pulled her hair back into a pony tail and started looking for her clothes.

"Ami... I-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Ami didn't even look at her.

"Hey now... it's not like I raped you or something. You made the first move."

"I did." Ami glanced at her, then looked away quickly, "And it's confusing the fuck out of me right now, and I don't want to talk about it."

Janice was silent, and continued to watch her best friend pull on her clothes for a few moments. As Ami finished adjusting her black t-shirt, she sighed. "Look... I... this doesn't change anything between us." Janice's eyes went a little wide as Ami smiled over at her weakly, "You're still my best friend in the world, and you're still gonna' be my roommate next year at collage. It's just... I have to explore this a little on my own for now. My feelings for you... run deeper than just friends, Jan. They have for months now. But... I have to decide if I'm ready for a _physical_ relationship with you or not."

Janice smiled back and nodded, "I understand. I've been where you are now, trust me." she stepped forward and touched Ami's arm, "But just so you know... it was _great_ sex."

Ami outright grinned at that, "What can I say? I'm a good lay."

"Why don't you just chill in here for a little while, and I'll do damage control with the other girls. I'm the gay one here after all."

"So you still don't think I'm gay?"

"Maybe bi, but not gay."

"Heh." Ami shook her head, "Okay. Just... let me think on this for a bit. I'm... sorry I made a move on you without being sure."

"It's okay, Ami..." Janice hugged her, "You just need to figure things out in your own time."

"Yeah."

"Just don't take forever."

Ami giggled.

* * *

Jinx jumped high and slashed a foot across one of the robotic training dummies head's. The poor android went down in a shower of sparks. She landed and spun around low, hurling a handful of throwing stars out in a fan, hitting seven targets that popped up. All bulls-eyes.

As another three dummies came in, Jinx exploded forward in a burst of pink energy, and when she landed past them, they simply fell apart. Grinning, she spun around again and pulled a throwing knife from her belt, chucking it at another target that popped up.

A bird-a-rang knocked her dagger from the air.

She stood up and saw Robin walking across the training room, grinning like an idiot, "Hey." He extended his bo staff, "You want to work out doing something other than throwing little pointy objects and breaking rather expensive battle dummies?"

Jinx waked to the wall and pulled down a staff of her own. Turning to him, she grinned, "Bring it on... bitch." Without another word, she charged in and gave a downward chop at him. Robin blocked it and swept for her legs. Jinx jumped, stuck her staff down and vaulted over him, coming down with a spinning of the pole, making the Boy Wonder back off.

He came back at her a moment later with a vicious series of jabs and hard swings, all of which she blocked fairly well. As he spun in at her right side, she blocked his staff with hers, both hands firmly bracing for the impact. It was too late that she saw he had switched to a one handed swing, and she completely missed the block on the hard right he threw into her jaw.

As his fist impacted, Jinx flew off her feet and landed on her back. Not letting him press his advantage, she spun her legs and staff around in a whirl of deadly strikes, and Robin backed off once again. Coming up to her feet, Jinx lunged back in, waves of pink energy ripping up the floor around her opponent.

Robin jumped up and came down with a hard chop at her head. Jinx blocked it, but his staff broke right through hers. Not to be outdone, she dropped her staff parts and punched with a glowing pink fist as he landed . She smashed through his staff and slugged him right in the face. Robin stumbled but stayed standing.

Jinx flew in at him again, but this time she knew she'd have to pull out all the stops if she was going to win. With the staffs there was only so much you could do. Hand to hand though, she knew he was still better than her.

Her open handed strike was blocked easily, and her returned it with a quick jab to her gut. She had expected it though, and took the hit on purpose so she could flip around and slam her boot across his jaw. Robin tumbled out of the fall it threw him into, and came back at her faster than she had anticipated. Still, she was ready and grabbed him in mid-leap, falling back and pitching him to the mats once again. She rolled out of the fall, jumped and twirled around in mid-air, and fell on him with a punch.

Robin moved his head to the side, and her fist pounded the mats. She pulled back her right hand for another punch, her left one pushing down on his chest to hold him. His right hand darted out of sight behind his cape and she paused, locked with a sudden anxiety.

As her fist made it back to full height, she started down at Robin with wide eyes. He lay on the floor, pinned by her left hand, with a large handgun held in both of his, pointed directly at her forehead.

"Take the gun from me, Jinx." he whispered. Jinx panted and sweat formed on her brow, "Come on, girl... four months ago you wouldn't have even let me draw it. You saw me reach for it Jenny, now take the damn gun from me!" he shouted the last bit, and Jinx jerked away from him. Getting up, she staggered away, one hand over her face, and the other held out to him in a pleading gesture to make him stop.

Robin slowly got to his feet and tucked the gun away behind his cape again. Jinx was leaned against the wall of the training room, breathing heavily, and her walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Talk to me, Jenny."

She was silent for a few minutes, then spoke, "I... I have nightmares. Gun shots, and..." she looked up at him with tear soaked pink eyes, "I'm... scared. For the first time in a long time... I'm scared."

Robin narrowed his eyes, "Scared of guns... or scared of dying?"

Jinx shook her head and remained silent. Robin sighed and stepped back from her, "Jenny, you have a good reason. You took four hollow point rounds." he pointed at her chest and his eyes narrowed down to slits, "You took one to the heart. That's as good a reason as I've ever heard to quit this life style."

"I don't know if I can... I..."

"Look, Jenny..." Robin's voice dipped a bit, and it was deeper, "If you want to know if I think you've lost your edge, or if I think you shouldn't be doing this, or if I wouldn't put my _life_ in your _hands_..." she looked up at him with wide eyes, "The answer to all those questions would be _no_. You have the talent, you have the power, and you have the bravery... you just need the confidence. I have that confidence in you, Jinx. You just need to have it in yourself." Robin held out his hand to her, and in it was a shiny new Titan communicator.

Jinx stared at it for a long time, then looked away. "I... I'd get someone hurt, or worse... I'd freeze up, and..." she looked him in the eye for a moment, "I'm sorry, Dick. I can't be a Titan."

As she looked away and rushed out of the room, Robin lowered his hand and stood in silence for several minutes.

* * *

Hanna, Becka, and Raven all looked up as Janice emerged from her and Ami's room and walked slowly into the common area. She sat down in a chair that faced all of her friends, and smiled at them. "Good morning."

"A _very_ good morning for you." Becka winked.

Janice blushed a little, and spoke up, "Just so you all know... it's the first time it's happened. It... Ami needs time to think about this."

"Did you like-" Hanna started.

"She made the first move." Janice blurted out, then covered her mouth with a blush. After a moment, she lowered her hands, "Look... I don't want to go into detail or anything here. Ami's confused. She doesn't know what to make of all the new feelings she's having and she doesn't know how to adjust to the fact that she might like boys _and_ girls."

"The same thing I imagine you went through a few years ago." Raven spoke up for the first time. Janice smiled at her in a grateful manner.

"Yeah. I want to help her with it... but I think I should do it alone. Please?"

Hanna and Becka looked at each other, then nodded and looked back at Janice, "Okay." Becka said, "But if you need any thing at all..."

"I know who to turn to. Thanks guys."

"Okay then." Raven stood up, "The ceremony starts at 2:00. Time to get around you two." she nodded to Becka and Hanna, "And you and Ami should eat before you do anything else." Raven motioned to the food laid out on the coffee table. "Where's Jenny?"

"At the Tower." Ami said from the hallway. All eyes turned to her, and she blushed, "What?"

"Nothing." Becka smiled at her, then turned to Hanna, "Let's shower."

"Sure. But no hanky panky." Hanna shook a finger at her, "I'm already pregnant."

"You _guys_..." Ami whined.

"Oh alright." Becka walked past her and gave her a brief hug, "What ever happens, Ami, you're always our friend."

Hanna kissed her cheek, "Definitely."

Ami blushed and nodded her thanks to them as they walked to their room. Turning back to Raven, she saw the dark haired Titan looking at her with a smirk and an arched eyebrow, "What?"

"So is Janice actually any good?"

"Shut the hell up, Cassie." Janice blushed and looked at Ami.

Ami was blushing too, but she just smiled, "Yeah, actually, she is."

Raven nodded, "I've always wondered. Her accent's freakin' cute, huh?"

"It's the little things that make me love her." Ami flounced into the room and sat next to Janice on the arm of the chair.

"I can't believe you guys..."

"What's the point in hiding your feelings from someone who can sense them anyway?" Ami asked, poking her.

Janice nodded and reached for one of the breakfast sandwiches Becka hadn't eaten, "Good point I guess."  
Raven smiled at the two of them, then stood up, "I have to finish some stuff for the ceremony. You two okay to get ready without me nagging you?"

"Yes mother..." they said in unison and both of them rolled their eyes. Raven smirked and walked off to her room.

* * *

At 1:09 pm, Jinx opened the door to her room in the dorms and stepped in. She was rather lost in thought, and when she looked up, she caught her breath.

Raven stood in the center of the room, inspecting herself in the full length mirror the two of them had. She wore long black graduation robes, and had just finished putting her cap on. Her black hair was combed out nicely, and framed her face in just the right way. A hint of dark makeup even showed around her eyes and on her lips.

"Oh my God... Cassie you look wonderful..." Jinx stepped into the room and walked around Raven, grinning wider by the second.

"Thanks. You're late getting back."

"I had some stuff to think about." Jinx opened the closet and pulled out her robes. Laying them out on the bed, she started pulling out a long black dress and a white blouse to wear under them.

Raven watched her for a moment, then said, "Did Robin ask you?"

Jinx paused, then pulled off her shirt and started on her pants, "Yeah."

"And?"

"I said no."

Raven was silent for another moment, then looked away from her not-sister, "I'm sorry. I thought it would be a good time."

"It'll never be a good time, Raven." Jinx looked up at her with slightly red eyes. She shook her head, "Even since I was shot, I just... I can't do it."

Raven nodded, "I understand. And I support you in what ever decision you make from here on out."

Jinx grinned, "Except going back to being a super villain."

"Yes, Jenny. Except going back to being a super villain."

"Heh." Jinx laughed a little, "You ready?"

"I'm ready." Raven nodded to the robes as Jinx finished dressing, "Get those on, and let's go."

* * *

The graduation ceremony took place in the large open field in the back campus. A large stage was set up with numerous chairs in front of it for the students, and bleachers on either side for the guests that were attending.

The Titans sat to the right of the stage, along with Janice's parents, Ami's parents, Hanna's sister, and Becka's mother and brother. The Senator himself was seated on the stage along with several other distinguished guests. Starfire and Troia were engaged in conversation with Hanna's sister, while Speedy and Robin chatted quietly to each other. Cyborg and Beast Boy kept cracking jokes at each other, keeping everyone around them entertained.

Everyone quieted as Principal Cain started the ceremony. She spoke for several minutes (as Jinx had feared) about the future, and the resposibility many of the students would be facing in a short time. She then proceeded to read off the names of the students who had died in the attack on the school, and everyone observed a moment of silence for them.

After the moment was passed, she spoke with a bit more life to her voice, "And now, the classes valedictorian, Margaret Delmont."

Maggie grinned as she climbed the step to the stage and arranged her note cards. She launched into her speech, recounting various events that had marked the classes four years at the school, and finished with a line that sent everyone cheering,

"As the Rolling Stones said, 'You can't always get what you want... but if you try sometimes, you just might find... you get what you need.'"

As the cheering died down, Maggie grinned wider than anyone had ever seen her grin and spoke into the microphone, "It gives me great pleasure to 2005's Class elected speaker... Raven Cassandra Roth."

The students cheered, shouted and stamped their feet as Raven stood up and walked up the steps. At the podium she shared a brief hug with Maggie, then stepped up to the microphone and smiled out at the student body.

"Good afternoon." she started, "As Maggie said, I'm Raven Roth. Most of you know me as Cassie... and that makes my heart warm. It's been great to be here, and I'm honored that Principal Cain and the School Governors decided to let myself and my sister stay on to the end of term." There was a brief round of applause, and Raven stepped back for a moment. After collecting her thoughts, she stepped back up to the podium and continued.

"Before I came here... before I even joined the Titans... I'd had extensive training, and I was taught to control my powers by some of the most dedicated people in existence. After I joined the Titans, the State required those of us that didn't already have them to study and receive at least a GED. So upon coming here to WJCIE, I already had all the education I needed.

"I'm nineteen now. Just a year or two older than most of you, but it seems like a lot longer than that, simply because of the kind of work I do, and have done since I was fourteen. Even still, coming here, I've felt like all of you are my peers. My equals... and I love that. When I came here, it was for a mission of protection, but what it turned out to be wasn't an education... but a re-education. Where my first instructors taught me control and perseverance, all of you taught me to let go and give in now and then. Where my studies to get my GED taught me knowledge, this school taught me how to interact with people my own age. Where my time with the Titans taught me about family... all of you have taught me about friendship, and how important it truly is.

"These lessons I had to learn, all of you have learned as well... a thousand times better than I ever could. The things you've learned here will serve you well in the world outside these walls, weather you're going to collage, or following a different path, you're well prepared for what life has to offer you. So I'm sure you all join me in thanking those that have helped us to learn the things we have. Our teachers," Raven looked over her shoulder at Mrs. Cain and Ms. Veerlin, who were seated behind her on the stage, "our family," her eyes drifted over to the Titans, who all grinned wide and nodded to her, "and of course... most importantly... our friends." Raven's eyes found Jinx in the crowd and they smiled at each other for a moment before the dark haired Titan took in Ami, Janice, Hanna and Becka, all of whom were grinning like idiots.

"So we're done." Raven addressed the crowd of students at large, "As we head off, we remember the most important lesson off all. Through trials and tribulations, successes and failures, triumphs and defeats... through the good and the bad, and through hard times and easy ones..." Raven's violet eyes softened, and she spoke quietly to the completely silent students, "Follow your heart." Her eyes locked with Speedy's and he smiled in a loving manner and nodded to her.

Raven's face was split by a grin and she turned back to the class, "Congradulations, Class of 2005. And thank you."

The students and the bleachers exploded into cheers and clapping, and Raven blushed lightly as she stepped down from the podium.

* * *

After Mrs. Cain had awarded the diplomas, she stepped back up to the microphone. "Family, friends and distinguished guests, I present to you the West Jump City Institute for Education's graduating Class of 2005!"

Cheers erupted and graduation caps were tossed up into the air. The students all crowded together, cheering, crying, laughing and celebrating. In the middle of the sea of black robes, Hanna, Becka, Janice, Ami, Jinx, Raven and Maggie all clutched to each other in a group hug, happy to be together. As a nervous looking Ginger Hamilton stepped past them with a smile, Hanna reached out and dragged her into the hug as well. Becka, in the middle of all of them, spoke up, "Congratulations guys! We did it!"

"And tonight, we party!" Jinx shouted.

"Hell yeah!" Ami returned.

"We are _not_ going out and getting wasted tonight!" Raven shouted to be heard over the cheering all around them.

"You're no fun!" Becka laughed at her.

"You're all going to be the death of me!" Raven grinned, "Forget sludge monsters and one eyed megalomaniacs!"

"So... who's up for collage next year? We can do this again!" Maggie had tears running down her face she was so happy.

"Just, you know... without the getting shot at bit." Hanna winked at her, and they all laughed.

As the crowd started to break up, Raven grabbed Jinx by the arm and dragged her into a hug, "Thanks, Jenny."

"For what?" Jinx pulled back and smiled at her.

"For being exactly what I needed... for coming in to my life right when I needed you."

Jinx's pink eyes went soft, and she hugged Raven tightly, "Anything for my sister... anything."

"You two coming?" Ami called to them as they started to walk away, "After this meet and greet thing we're going back to the dorms for an all floor party!"

Jinx and Raven looked at each other and laughed, "Yeah, we're coming." Jinx jogged to catch up to the group and Raven lingered for a moment. She started at the girls she'd come to regard as such good friends, and wondered at how all of their lives were going to evolve from now on. So much was up in the air right now. There was only one thing she knew for sure.

She would always be there for all of them.

"Cassie! Come on!" Hanna called to her.

Raven blinked and smiled, "I'm coming!" and she dashed off to join her friends.

* * *

Fin

* * *

Closing notes: Whew! What a trip, eh? I had to end it on an up note... it seemed mean not to. Still, I left a lot of open room at the end of this story, and you know what that means!

Sequel time!

Now mind you it might be a little while. I have no ideas for a major plot line, no new characters to throw in, and nothing in the way of plans to resolve any of the issues I've tossed into the mix in the last chapter and in this Epilog. And there's some doozies too. Janice and Ami's relationship, Becka and Chad breaking up, Hanna's baby, Raven balancing her Titan life with that of her new friends lives, Jinx's refusal of the Titan membership, Troia's new life with the Titans, Speedy and Raven's evolving relationship, and the issue of the League of Assassins being royally pissed at the Titans.

So there's really tons of material I could use, just no plot yet. I'll work on it, but in the mean time, expect to see Jump City Symphony breaking out soon! I'm newly energized on it, and I can't wait to get going with the first post!

So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed _Re-Educating Miss Roth_. You've made me feel like a great author, despite how many of you have called me evil and cruel, or threatened me with bodily harm for all the cliff hangers and abuse of poor, poor Hanna. That just shows me how much you love the story.

Which, of course, means I'll keep doing it. :)

-Jacob McDonald


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